As the Years Go By
by sadbird
Summary: This is a story of Team 7's life. How much they had gone through together and their interaction with one another. SasuSaku, some NaruSaku, some NaruHina, and some NaruSasu FRIENDSHIP only No YAOI . Enjoy!
1. The First Meeting

I really hope you like this.

In this story line, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto interact with one another and they might be love spreading in between them. But between who exactly? SasuNaru? SasuSaku? SakuNaru? Or possibly...all of them??

Warning! Sasuke and Itachi will be a little OOC in the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

* * *

They were seven years old when they first recognized each other.

They were in their first year of the ninja academy. All the children were either searching for their friends to talk to, or sitting in their assigned seats waiting for class to start, eager to learn and get over it.

On one corner at the back, a blonde boy sat completely isolated from the others, staring at the window with beautiful, lonely blue eyes. His name was Uzumaki Naruto. For some reason, everyone hated him and glared at him with terrifying eyes whenever he passed by the market. Women would hide their children from view and scurry away while men would stop whatever it is they were doing and glare, some would even curse him and call him a monster. He was an orphan who lived in a small apartment given to him by the Hokage himself, one of the very few people whose eyes didn't hold any hatred or grudge towards him.

On another corner in the front seat sat a pink-haired girl with a suspiciously wide forehead. Her name was Haruno Sakura. She held a distant gaze at the kids who were happily chattering with one another. She envied their friendship so much, since everyone she tried to interact with ended up giving her tears and bruises. Because of her unnatural hair color and wide forehead, she has been teased about them and made fun off. No one even glanced her way unless they were planning something. She tried her best to appear invisible to their eyes and be as quiet as possible, praying that this day will end in peace.

The last person had pitch black hair and deep onyx eyes. His name was Uchiha Sasuke. He looked more mature than the rest of the students, for he was dead serious on becoming one of the best ninjas Konoha has ever seen. He will train hard every day in order to catch up to his older brother and grasp his father's approval. Thought many tried to befriend him because of his looks and status, he ignored them all and focused wholeheartedly on jutsus and information that would aid him to become stronger. Therefore, he will never regard such people as friends.

There are some other children who also seemed to ignore crowds, but those three had one thing in common. They wanted to be recognized and respected by the people in Konoha, proving that they earn the title of a shinobi. Despite their young age, the three had sharp minds. The blonde child could think of a plan at the right time. Whenever he was cornered or in a hitch, he would think up of a plan that would get him out of the dilemma. The pink-haired angel had a photographic memory. At such a young age, she has already memorized all the shinobi rules listed in their nation and all the historical facts about Konoha. She could also read and write when she was only two years of age. Finally, the black-haired prodigy; his skill was beyond that of his age and his intelligence was that of a genin. He was able to defeat everyone in his class, making him take first place in all kinds of tests…all except one, in which the pink-haired angel occupies…the written tests.

* * *

A person would never know if their meeting was destiny or pure coincidence.

* * *

Naruto hated to go back to his cold house (not home), so he tried his best to stay away from it. The usual park he goes to was currently occupied by so many children and their parents. The moment he stepped foot into the park, the mothers stopped chattering and giggling with one another and stared at the boy with piercing eyes, as if his presence just ruined their day. Naruto quietly gulped and gradually left the park before anyone initiated a bad rumor about him. Once he was away from the crowd, his tensed shoulder relaxed, thankful that no one followed and called him undeserved names. While he was walking, he heard sobs a few feet away. He got closer towards the sound with careful eyes, wondereing who is crying out with such pain and why.

* * *

Sakura has always been teased about her hair and forehead, but today her attackers were a bit too violent with her. They pulled her hair so hard the roots started bleeding a bit. She begged them to stop but the more she asked, the more aggressive they became. How can they laugh at someone's misery was something her childish mind can never understand. Once they got bored of her, they said some snobby remark about her wide forehead before leaving her on the ground, laughing. Now she was all filthy and bloody because of the assault and she couldn't master the strength and courage to go to her parents and explain her predicament. She never told her mother about her problems in the academy, especially now when she was two months pregnant. Sakura's going to have to go through that on her own. It was then she noticed a pair of feet in front of her and closed her eyes in fear that one of her attackers has come back. When nothing happened, she slowly opened her teary emerald eyes and looked up at the familiar boy. It's him, the boy who her mother constantly glared at when she saw him walk by. He always had lonely eyes, just like now. She didn't know why, but she has always wanted to talk to him and give him a hug, because hugs always cured a person's heart. She saw the boy look at her and hesitate before saying something. When he started backing away, Sakura reacted. She didn't want to be alone right now.

"Um, Naruto-san, right?" She whispered in her small, angelic voice. Naruto jumped when he heard her address him and stared her with wide eyes. Why wasn't she reacting like everyone else?

Sakura waited patiently for him to confirm what she said, but it seemed he was reluctant to answer her. She did the only thing that would encourage him, she smiled.

"Naruto-san?" she tried again and this time, he nodded and looked at the ground guiltily, as if expecting she would be disgusted by him. She stood up slowly, wincing from the pain in her knee and slowly walked towards the scared little boy.

"My name is Haruno Sakura, you're in my class at the academy right?" she kept her smile and looked at the boy with fond eyes. Naruto backed away a bit more, confused with the girl's action; she was the first person who willingly approached him. Deciding to grab this rare opportunity, he quickly nodded and gave a tiny smile in return.

"Hai, It's me. Nice to meet you Sakura-san" he said with his small voice, but that was all what Sakura needed. She gave him a huge warm smile, surprising the older boy. She was so happy she could hardly take it!

"Sakura-san, don't you hate me?" Naruto blurted out suddenly. All his life, he has been treated as an outsider, someone to be feared and hated. Receiving a different kind of treatment is something that was not in his dictionary.

Sakura couldn't blame him. She'd seen how everyone treated him and she would understand if he was surprised and confused that a stranger would not show him the same emotions everyone does. She kept her smile in place though and held his warm hand.

"You never hurt me, so why would I hate you? Do you want to be friends with me? I…I don't have any friends here and I would be really happy if you agree to be mine" her voice lost its confidence in the end, afraid that he might turn out to be like the rest of the children and start laughing at her. To her shock, she felt Naruto's hand enclose on her own. When she looked at his face, she was surprised to find a huge, lope-sided grin.

"I would love to be your friend, Sakura-chan!" he said with much enthusiasm, warming Sakura's heart.

"Great! Nice to meet you Naruto-kun!" Sakura said with as much excitement.

* * *

On the other side of the small playground, Sasuke sat on the lonesome swing, staring at the two children who just became friends. When he saw the girl crying several minutes ago, he wanted to go and see if he can lend a hand in any way; she seemed to be in pain. Once he was about to do so, he spotted the blonde-haired kid do the job, and so Sasuke was contented on sitting and just observing. When he saw both of them smile, he couldn't help but do so as well.

"Sasuke? It is rare for you to smile like that." He heard his brother's voice beside him. Without thinking, he stood up swiftly and scowled at him "Aniki, you're late. You were supposed to train me today" Sasuke finished lamely. Itachi laughed openly as he ruffled his younger brother's hair.

"Tomorrow Sasuke, I promise. Let's go home." Itachi said with soft eyes. Sasuke smiled at him and skipped towards Itachi in order to hold on to his brother's hand.

"It seems like you were interested in them." Itachi suddenly said. Sasuke frowned and looked back at the kids he has been staring at for the past half hour.

"They're okay." He murmured. Itachi showed a rare smile and remembered how he met _his_ best friend. He hoped Sasuke would find that in them.

* * *

Sakura and Naruto stared at the siblings walking away from the playing ground.

"Isn't that Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked a bit confused as to why he was here in the first place. Naruto frowned when he saw her attention somewhere else and held her uninjured hand.

"Let's heal your wounds Sakura-chan! Iruka-sensei is very kind and knows basic medical techniques! You'll be alright in no time!" Naruto gave his only friend a huge grin as he dragged her to his teacher's place. He will be okay. As long as Sakura-chan is with him, he's going to be okay. Her smile is so beautiful and warm; he is going to protect her with his life. He won't let some popular kid like the Uchiha bastard take her away from him!

Sakura smiled, pleased that she will be getting rid of her wounds. She can then go back to her mother and take care of her. Pregnant woman are always tired and it is Sakura's job to help her mother in everything. She will be responsible! Now, she has a friend who is so warm and doesn't judge her from her appearance. That was all she ever wanted. A picture of the black-haired boy popped into her mind and her smile grew even bigger. She hoped she would be friends with him too! He looked lonely too, just like Naruto.

* * *

When the siblings reached their house, Sasuke sat down in the garden, remembering the boy and girl in his class. The blonde-haired dobe was not like the losers who always showed off with their strength. The pink-haired girl was not like the other girls who keep flirting with him endlessly. They were special and different. Maybe one day, he'll be friends with them as well. Before thinking deeper into that, he shook his head vigorously. He's an Uchiha! And Uchihas don't need friends! Right?

* * *

Thank you for reading. Please review! there will be more of that later on!

Sadbird.


	2. Rivals and Jealousy

I'm back. This is the second part of my story. I hope you like it :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

* * *

They were eight years old when Naruto and Sasuke became rivals…and jealous.

It's been four months since she and Naruto became friends and ever since then, they started spending a lot of time together and at the Ramen shop, courtesy of Naruto and his weird obsession with it. Sakura was horrified when she found out that Ramen and milk were the meals he regularly consumes and made sure Naruto ate healthier food ever since then. In the end, she started bringing an extra box filled with food with her to the academy.

To say Naruto was thrilled would be perfect, for he never received such attention from anyone before; Sakura yelling at him about his health and forcing him to eat fruits and vegetables just made him ecstatic. As a bonus for him, it turned out that his recent friend is smart, as in _smart._ There wasn't anything he asked her that she couldn't answer with confidence and ease. His Sakura-chan knew everything!

Today was another beautiful day as they both sat down on a new spot under a tree. They had half an hour of recess before the everyone would continue on with their education in the academy. Sakura took out her two bento boxes, handing out one of them to Naruto with a huge grin.

"Today's food is special and important for you! So you better eat them all!" Sakura said, daring him to say otherwise. Naruto gulped and slowly opened the box to see multiple colors of fruits and some Onigiri. He blinked at the choice of food today and smiled.

"Thank you Sakura-chan! Itadakimasu!" Naruto first started with his Onigiri, savoring the delicious flavor. Before he went further into his bento box, his chopsticks stopped in their track once he caught site of a reddish, juicy fruit. His eyes narrowed as he started poking this suspicious jelly-like substance with his pair of chopsticks. Sakura kept watching him do the same thing for a whole two minutes, which made her twitch every now and then.

"What are you doing Naruto!? Do not play with your food!" Naruto stopped and gave her a small frown, pointing at the red fruit in front of him. "You are going to be eating those whether you like them or not!" Sakura yelled, frustrated that he made a such big fuss over something so stupid.

"But Sakura-chan! I don't like Tomatoes! Please! Anything but this!" Naruto begged. If there was anything he hated to eat, it was Tomatoes; he shuddered at the thought of even tasting it.

"Naruto! You are going to be eating those tomatoes, or I will!" Sakura ordered. Tomatoes are such juicy and delicious fruits and the idea of someone not liking them is just…wrong. Glancing at Naruto's stubborn face, she realized that he won't be eating them even if she begged for it. With a sigh, she reached out to them with her pair of utensils and started putting the freshly chopped pieces of tomatoes in her bento box. She was a little disappointed in the fact that her friend didn't like them; it took her so much time to search for the perfect, bright red ones in the market with her pregnant mom. Shrugging mentally, she started nibbling at the rest of her food, keeping the tomatoes to savor for last. Once she was done with her part, she started eating the delicious tomatoes, chewing as slowly as she possibly could in order to savor the taste. Before she could glare at Naruto for not even trying them, she felt a figure standing somewhere beside her. Opening her eyes, she was surprised to find Uchiha Sasuke himself, kneeling right beside her and staring at her bento box with innocent curiosity. Surprised, she squealed and backed away, caught completely off guard.

"Eh? Sasuke-san? What are you doing here?" Sakura said, completely baffled. Sasuke just stared at her for a while before pointing at her food.

"Can I…have some?" He hesitated, feeling stupid for asking such a weird question. Sakura stared at her bento, which contained the few portions of tomatoes left.

'_Sasuke likes…tomatoes' _Sakura concluded, but before she had the chance to respond, Naruto stood up from his place and glared down at the Uchiha.

"Why would Sakura-chan give you any of her lunch!? Go get yours from your own mother" Naruto began. Sasuke glanced at him with uninterested eyes.

"I was not talking to you Dobe. You better leave if you are annoyed by my presence" Sasuke ended his statement with a bold smirk. Naruto fumed at the…_stranger_ who made him appear like an idiot in front of his Sakura-chan.

"Don't call me that you…teme! If you're man enough, come fight me!"

"Why don't you tell that to whoever cares…Dobe" Another smirk. Naruto's anger was out of control and was about to charge at the snob, but Sakura easily cut him off with a fist to his cheeks, sending him flying a few feet away.

"Naruto! Don't be so rude!" Sakura yelled and turned to Sasuke with another glare directed straight at him.

"Sasuke-san! Please don't be rude to Naruto. He's my friend and I don't want you two to end up fighting. Its better if you two just sat together in peace"

Sasuke snorted at that idea, ignoring her attitude towards him. "He started it" He murmured lamely. Sakura couldn't hold her anger for long, especially when Sasuke, in his own way, apologized. She smiled and gave him her bento box.

"I'm full anyway Sasuke-san! You can have the rest of the tomatoes. I never knew you liked them." Sasuke thanked her politely and took her chopsticks from her own hand, shocking her "Sasuke-san, I used those" Sasuke stopped midway into eating his share of tomatoes, stared at the chopsticks, and shrugged "It doesn't matter" he said, popping the piece of fruit into his mouth. He gave Sakura a small smile, which caught the girl completely off guard.

"These are really good tomatoes" He complemented as he ate another piece. Sakura smiled; glad that she may have a new friend soon. Naruto sat beside her, pouting and glaring at the newcomer who was slowly stealing Sakura away from him.

"Ano, Sasuke-san? Why did you decide to sit with us? I'm sure you have better friends to go to…" Sakura trailed off, staring at the ground sadly. Whenever she thought of that, her mood seemed to go down drastically. Naruto was alarmed at her change of mood and tried to tell her that she was all the things she thought she wasn't, but again, Sasuke had beaten him to it.

"I don't have friends here; they are all annoying and useless to me." Sasuke stated, giving back the empty box to the owner. "You shouldn't get upset of such a small thing. I'm guessing you're better than all of them put together" He finished his statement and stood up "Thank you for the tomatoes…" Before he could finish what he started, Sakura gave him a huge smile and stood up as well, holding his hands.

"Sasuke-san, do you want to sit with us tomorrow as well!? We also hang out in the playground as much as we can. You're welcomed to join us if you like!" her eyes held so much hope that for a moment, little Sasuke didn't have the heart to crush her rising spirit and deny her her request. Just when he was about to answer her, Naruto had to interfere "Why would you want Sasuke-teme to hang out with us anyway?" Sakura twitched and turned around to deliver a glare to Naruto.

"I will be busy training. I said it before, I don't need friends" Sasuke's voice interrupted their glaring contest and Sakura was about to talk it out with the new person, but by that time, he had already disappeared. To say Sakura was crushed was an understanding. She sat on the ground and let out a long, tired sigh. Naruto looked at her back with a guilty expression on his face; one of his worst nightmares was to be the reason for his friend's disappointment and sadness.

"I really wanted us to be friends with him, Naruto. It would have been fun for the three of us to sit down with one another and talk. I've always wanted this." Sakura looked at him with a smile and continued, "Not that I am not grateful you aren't with me. I am so happy to be friends with you, Naruto…though it would be nice to have another person in the group…right?" She looked at him expectantly, her eyes boring into his. Naruto ignored her gaze, but nodded nonetheless "Yeah, it would be nice to have someone else with us…even if it was Sasuke-teme. Sorry Sakura-chan" Naruto apologized, but Sakura would have none of it. She reached out for Naruto and patted his head.

"You don't have to apologize for this Naruto. Maybe one day, we will befriend him right?" Naruto stared at the most precious person in his life and gave out his customary grin, pleasing Sakura greatly. It was just then they heard the teachers summoning their students back to class. In a hurry, Sakura grabbed Naruto's hand and they both ran to their respected class.

* * *

The sun was about to set as the two children continued to play in the swings, trying to win one another by swinging higher and higher. So far, Sakura was winning Naruto. Rather, Naruto was letting her win. It was nice to always see her confidence rise whenever she wins a challenge between them and if her victory gives her happiness, he would gladly lose for her.

"I win again Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed happily. She knew what her friend was doing, but she wasn't complaining. She could clearly see that Naruto was better at this than her, but winning is winning anyway. She stopped swinging when she saw a familiar figure walking towards her, his face looking irritated and dejected. Sakura stopped swinging and waited for Sasuke to approach her further. Imagine her surprise when he said something that had nothing to do with what she expected.

"You're sitting in my swing…" Sakura blinked, confused and taken back. Used to listening to others in order to avoid any violence, she apologized and stepped aside for him to use the swing. Sasuke didn't expect her to give up her place so easily and so, after taking her place, he looked at her startling emerald eyes "You need to step up to people. If your personality stays that weak when you become a ninja, you are going to be a complete failure." She stared at the ground and nodded, knowing that he was right and she should stand up to herself.

"Oi! Teme! Don't talk to her like that! And just who are you to take her swing when she was the one who sat on it first!" Naruto burst out, his nerves flailing from how that bastard was talking to his Sakura-chan. Sasuke seemed to be ignoring him, but his smirk alerted Naruto that the bastard was doing so on purpose. Right before he can deliver another remark, Sasuke looked at him with uninterested eyes.

"Is that the only thing you can say? 'Sakura-chan this' and 'Sakura-chan that'. Are you her eternal slave or something…Dobe?" the black-haired eight year-old delivered a smirk and started swinging, ignoring the murderous aura radiating from his other side.

"You think you are better than me teme?! What do you know?! I bet I can kick your snobby butt all the way to Sand Village without even lifting up a finger!"

"Oh yeah? Says the loser who keeps failing at every exam" Sasuke retorted.

"You think you're so smart!? You're not the first at everything! Sakura-chan holds first place in the written tests!" At this, Naruto's smirk widened.

"At least I have skills and use them to become a better ninja, unlike you whose whole life is pulling pranks on people and following a pink-haired brat!"

"Well at least I have a life teme! I'm not some asexual obsessed freak whose life is to train, train, and eat freaking tomatoes!"

"why you!" By that time, Sasuke and Naruto had stood up from their swings and were forehead to forehead, glaring at each other with venom.

* * *

While they were at it, Sakura got bored of their arguments and sat on a bench a few feet away from the playground, staring at the sunset. By the time the two boys realize she's gone, they would have finished their endless argument. While she was enjoying the soothing view, she felt a presence behind her, alerting her. Turning around, her eyes widened when she caught site of her abusers, smirking down at her. This time, they were only a group of boys who were so much bigger than her small size.

"Well ugly-forehead, we're finally alone. It's been a while hasn't it" the leader of the small group said.

'_You need to step up to people. If your personality stays that weak when you become a ninja, you are going to be a complete failure.'_ Sakura gulped inaudibly. Remembering Sasuke's word brought back some of her courage and confidence, but what is a small girl like her able to do in front of a group of bigger boys?

'_Oh well…'_ Sakura thought. If she was to be taken down, she won't go without a fight; Naruto and Sasuke taught her that. She summed up all the courage she had and stood up from her bench, though it did nothing to fill the gap of height between them. Determined, she stared at the boys with hard emerald orbs, surprising them greatly.

"If talking such trash is all why you came here for, then I suggest you leave, please." She said with her hard voice, her body tense for any attack. The older boys started laughing at her bold statement, frustrating Sakura all the more.

"Little miss ugly grew a spirit and thinks she can stand up to us. Let's prove her wrong boys." The leader said and before Sakura could make any move, she was held by two pairs of strong arms, rendering her immobile. The next thing she knew, her hair was being yanked roughly, making her let out a loud yelp of pain. She just hoped that Naruto can hear her, she prayed he could. Apparently, she was not strong enough for these mob and tears slide down her face when she realized that she was going to receive some more beating. Before the boy's fist managed to reach her face, he was shoved aside roughly, resulting in him falling on the rough dirty ground.

"What the hell!!" the leader exclaimed, surprised as to who would dare interrupt him. Before he could turn around, he was rendered unconscious by a strong punch to his face.

Sakura was dropped to the ground as the two other boys scurried away from her and carried their leader. The pink-haired girl slowly opened her eyes and looked up from her position on the ground to see the backs of her friend and Sasuke. Sasuke felt her gaze on him and turned around towards her, saying, "Are you hurt anywhere?" without waiting for an answer, his eyes searched her body for any kind of injury and nodded when he was satisfied that no harm was inflicted on her.

"If you ever come near Sakura-chan again, you'll have to go through me bastards! We went easy on your leader, but we won't the next time we see you!" Naruto roared at the group who were glaring at them. Sasuke decided to end this.

"Just leave and make sure that next time, you pick on someone your own size…cowards" they needn't be told twice as they scurried away from them with their tails in between their legs.

Sniffs and small sobs were the only thing heard in the area as Naruto automatically started trying to soothe her with everything he can, but no matter what he said, he couldn't easy her frustration and feeling of helplessness. Sasuke look at the pair and to his frustration, found himself uncomfortable with her distress. He kneeled down towards her and stared until he sobs somehow softened and looked at him with red, puffy eyes.

"You can't have the idiot protecting you all your life. You're a ninja, act like one. The Dobe told me you were smart, use it and train so you can one day fight back those idiots, instead of them doing that to you." Sakura forgot all about her distress and blinked at Sasuke, pointing out "That's the longest sentence I heard you say" Sasuke twitched and was about to retort back when another person decided to join them.

* * *

"I see you made some friends, Sasuke" Itachi said as he entered the clearing with an amused expression. He saw everything that happened and would have helped the pink-haired girl had he not been sure his brother and the kyuubi container would do the job. Sasuke never cared much about others, but when he saw him defend the girl, he couldn't help but be at ease that his brother would not be alone when…

"Nii-san, what are you doing here" Sasuke said with a small blush, embarrassed he was caught in the act. Itachi gave a small smile and looked at the pink-haired girl before returning his attention back to his dear brother. "I came here to take you home; mother wanted us to be in time for dinner." He stated. His eyes wandered back to the other two, "You should also go home. It's getting late and you wouldn't want your mother to worry." The last sentence was meant for Sakura, for he knew the Kyuubi's history.

Before Sakura could get up, she winced from the pain in her ankle. It must have been when she was trying to escape her attackers' vice-like grip. "Eh? Sakura-chan. Are you okay?" Naruto asked worriedly. It felt like she was in pain. Itachi knew the reason behind this and kneeled down to inspect her injury. Sakura had complete faith in him and let him touch the sore spot without complaining. Inwardly, Itachi was surprised the small girl trusted him enough to stay relaxed in his presence, possibly because she knew he was Sasuke's elder brother. Putting that aside, he started healing her ankle. Though he may not have enough experience in the field of medicine, he can at least numb her pain and make sure it's not fractured. When he was done, he noticed the girl's expression ease up as the pain slowly faded away.

"I didn't heal it fully, but bandaging it for two days will definitely finish the job. Tell your mother to do it for you." Itachi exclaimed and raised her from the ground, making sure she can stand on her own. Sakura gave him a huge smile, warming his features slightly. "Thank you Nii-san! It doesn't hurt anymore!" Itachi gave her a small smile and nodded.

"Oi, girl. He is my brother, so don't call him that." Sasuke murmured, jealous that his brother's attention was solely on her. On the other hand Naruto was also envious that NOW, Sasuke's _brother_ is holding his Sakura-chan's attention. "Let's go Sakura-chan!" Naruto held Sakura's hand, but heard her let out a small yelp when she took her first step.

Even though the pain was dull and almost not there, Sakura felt very uncomfortable walking on her left foot. Before she could contemplate on how she was going to be home on time, someone gently lifted her from the ground and the next thing she knew, she was on the elder Uchiha's back

Sasuke's brother was giving her a piggy back ride home, her sharp mind instantly figured out.

"Ano! Uchiha-san! You don't have to…Sasuke-san's mother is waiting for you and I don't want to be a burden…" Sakura kept on babbling until one look from the elder Uchiha assured her that she was not intruding or delaying their dinner. Hesitantly, she wrapped her arms around him and relaxed. Throughout the whole process, both Sasuke and Naruto were surprised at what just happened between the two.

"Look what you did Dobe. It's your fault that Aniki has to carry her all the way back to her house when we could be going to ours instead." Sasuke started, glaring at Naruto.

"At least your big brother is more of a gentleman than you! You'll stay a stuck up bastard with a stick up your—"

"NARUTO! DON'T MAKE ME COME THERE! YOU TOO SASUKE!!!" Sakura's (a few yards away) angry outburst shut both the children up as they gulped at the girl's threatening tone. Sasuke was slightly aggravated at how a girl (a _pink-haired one nonetheless!)_ managed to scare him. He shoved his hands into his pocket and followed his brother to Sakura's house. Naruto grumbled a few incoherent words before following suit and making sure the elder Uchiha delivers his best friend safely.

"Ano, Nii-san? What's your name?" Sakura filled in the silence. She wanted to at least know the person who helped her out, since not many go through so much length for her. The elder Uchiha smiled at the girl, finding himself already fond of her "Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's older brother. Nice to meet you Sakura-kun. I'm glad my brother found you as a friend, I believe you are worth all the trouble."

Sakura liked the young man already and she turned to look _down_ at Sasuke "Sasuke-san! Come have lunch with us tomorrow! I'll get you some more fresh tomatoes!" Sasuke was stuck; he didn't want anything to do with them, but he couldn't let such precious, good tomatoes go to waste.

"Aa." He said after a long silence, making Sakura mentally jump from joy. She was so happy she couldn't take it! Naruto inwardly sighed. He was about to completely reject to the idea, but when he saw how happy Sakura was, he quickly dismissed it. Her happiness came first, above everything else and he would do anything for her, even live through a couple of hours with the bastard.

"Hurry up Dobe, don't drill your messed up mind with unnecessary daydreaming." Sasuke exclaimed, now several feet away from him. Naruto growled; make than one hour!!

"Teme! One day, I will beat you up until there is nothing left of you!"

"Oh yeah? Let's just see you try!" Sasuke retorted.

In the front, Sakura and Itachi secretly smiled to themselves, knowing that this is just the beginning of a long and weird friendship.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed it :D Please review!

Sadbird


	3. We Care About You

Hey Everyone! Thank you for those who reviewed my story and added it to his/her favorites.

This is a slightly dramatic chapter and I advice you to listen to a certain song while reading it. The lyrics are included in this chapter (the ones in Italics). The song is called 'Catch Your Fall' by Gavin Mikhail. I believe is fits perfectly.

Same Disclaimer.

* * *

They were nine years of age when Sasuke needed them.

"Be careful Naruto! Setsuni is still so fragile! Hold him carefully!" Sakura lectured as he tried his best to make her four months old brother comfortable is his arms. Sakura gave him a brilliant smile when her baby brother grabbed Naruto's shirt, yawned, and went to sleep while he sucked his thumb. Naruto was pleased and looked at his Black-haired rival with a smug face.

"At least he didn't start screaming and crying when I held him. Can't say the same thing about Sasuke-bastard though" Naruto snickered quietly when he saw Sasuke twitch before he resumed drinking his tea.

"It's okay Sasuke-kun! Setsu-chan will get used to you in no time…just smile a bit. I think you scared him with your glare back then." Sakura stated and drank her tea, trying to stifle her laughter as she sat face to face with Sasuke and right beside Naruto.

* * *

It's been almost six months now and ever since then, Sasuke started spending time with the two idiots more often, having nothing else to do while waiting for his brother in the afternoon, at least that's what he told himself. He seemed to enjoy eating the tomatoes Sakura never failed to bring him during their lunch break. Also, Sakura knows a great deal of information and answers every question Sasuke and Naruto ask her about Ninja history, chakra, jutsus, and so on. Sasuke decided that they weren't very annoying and useless after all. Naruto may be stupid at times, but he proved to be a good challenge every now and then. Today, Naruto and he stayed at Sakura's place to babysit her brother and to offer her some company while her parents were away for business.

The Harunos were aware of their daughter's mature and sharp brain, so they trusted her fully with their newborn son, pleasing Sakura greatly. They already knew of her friendship with the Kyuubi and the young Uchiha. At first, her mother didn't approve of Naruto as her friend for a reason Sakura didn't know, but after a whole lot of persuasion from Sakura's part, both her parents allowed the friendship to go on, hating to upset their only daughter. Unlike the rest of the villagers, they had an open mind and knew deep down that it was never Naruto's fault for the Kyuubi incident.

Back to the present…

* * *

Sasuke was excited, Itachi should be here any second now in order to take him and help him train with Kunais. Just as he thought, he heard the doorbell and quietly stood up so as not to disturb the baby, silently letting Sakura and Naruto know that he will answer the door. His two friends nodded, already having understood most of his movements and facial expressions in just six months of being together. Sakura poured tea for the new visitor and took Setsuni from Naruto, thanking him with a smile, which he gladly gave back. Sakura turned around when she heard the door of the room open and smiled when she saw Sasuke's older brother.

"Good afternoon Itachi-san." Sakura said quietly and motioned for him to take a seat and drink some tea, but he shook his head apologetically. "I've been given a mission and I will be gone for a couple of days. I just came by to inform Sasuke"

That explained the look of frustration on Sasuke's face, Sakura thought with a sweat drop "Sasuke, can you go home by yourself? I'm already late for the meeting place" Itachi mentioned, slightly worried how his brother would be able go home when it is so dark. He blamed his overprotective side, which wanted to ensure that Sasuke stayed out of danger, even after the clan…

"Hey! I have an idea!" Sakura exclaimed, raising her voice just a little bit, unable to conceal her growing excitement. The three boys all stared at her, waiting. "Itachi-san! Can Sasuke-kun sleep in my house today? It's late anyway and Naruto will also be staying. My parents won't be here until tomorrow night and I always feel better when I know there is someone in the house other than me." Sakura's logical explanation made Itachi directly approve, "Very well Sakura. I shall send a message to our parents to inform them. I'm sure they won't mind" Itachi's sarcastic tone was not missed by the pink-haired girl but she dismissed it and looked at Sasuke, silently begging him to accept her invitation.

* * *

Sasuke was stuck; his female friend was looking at him with those huge emerald eyes that made it impossible for him to say no. He cursed the fact that she can affect him this much. Oh well, it's better than staying at home without his brother all day. It may actually be a little fun to spend the night here. Huffing, he nodded and glared at his brother who was the source of all of this. Itachi smiled and kneeled down to his height, ruffling his hair with affection. "Take care of yourself, Sasuke." Sasuke was so surprised by his brother's almost…sad smile that he couldn't help but nod and assure him that he will be okay without him. It was all what Itachi wanted and he left the Haruno household with determined, cold eyes. Yet, he had to mask his facial expression when he heard light footsteps running towards him. Turning around, he was rather surprised to see Sakura standing in front of him and staring at him.

"Itachi-san. I…Naruto and I are going to take care of Sasuke-kun. It's a promise of a lifetime!" she heard Itachi give a small intake of breath, surprised as to why she would say that. This girl was so unexpected, always saying things that made him wonder if she really were just a nine year old.

"Sorry…" Sakura exclaimed sheepishly after a while "It's just that…Itachi-san has a very sad and guilty look on his face. I felt that I had to say this. You're a very sad person, Itachi-san" Itachi kneeled down to her high, noting that she was just as tall as Sasuke. Her eyes travelled hesitantly to his, silently apologizing for her nonsense. The young ANBU gave her a small smile and ruffled her hair in the same manner he does to Sasuke. What warmed him was that she was_ worried_ about him. His brother would be just fine with her. That gave him enough resolve to go on with his last mission, a mission that will surely break Sasuke's heart and throw him towards the dark abyss. "Thank you" Itachi whispered in her ear before disappearing from her view. Sasuke would be just fine.

* * *

Two Days Later

Sakura never ran so much in her life. Minutes ago, Naruto ran to her house with terrified eyes, which convinced Sakura straight away that something horrible has just happened. She quickly wore her raincoat and ran outside without even informing her parents, she would deal with them later. She followed Naruto to Konoha Hospital and turned towards him, confused.

"I heard from some jounins that Sasuke's clan was entirely wiped out. They said Sasuke was the only one who was kept alive. Itachi was the killer Sakura-chan" Naruto whispered to her, staring at the hospital door. Sakura gasped and without waiting for him, ran towards the hospital reception, demanding to be taken to Sasuke's room.

_It's that time  
To sink or swim I try  
To be stronger inside  
And rise above myself  
I know for you  
It must be painful to  
Carry the way you do  
Though I can't be you  
I see through  
Your silence, feigned indifference gets you by  
And, though I'm trying, I can't tell you when we'll fly  
Just know..._

The nurse was bewildered, but kept her face façade as she repeated "Uchiha Sasuke does not take visitors at this hour." Sakura did not have time for this, she glared at the nurse with so much venom "Listen, we are the closest people he has now, we need to see him. Please!" the nurse hesitated; visiting hours were already over, she would not allow children to break the protocol. She looked down at the girl and was about to repeat what she said earlier when a voice broke through the silence.

"Let them through young lady. It's better if the young Uchiha is visited by his friends. He needs them right now" The Hokage said just when he came through the door. Sakura and Naruto were hopeful as they stared back the nurse. The said nurse quickly nodded and told them the room the last Uchiha was residing in. Without wasting any more time, the two nine-year-olds darted towards the room. When they reached, they opened the door quietly and peeked in to find that no one was inside, surprising them greatly.

"Oh, it seems like Uchiha Sasuke has left the hospital" The third Hokage stated. Sakura looked at him and held his robe "Hokage-sama! Do you know where he is?" The Hokage stared at her with sad, old eyes and patted her head "You should give him some time to grasp what just happened to him. However,If you insist on seeing him, I'm sure you now where he is."

_I care I'll lift you up to  
See where I will always  
Be there any time you call  
And I will take us back  
Into a life of more than we've  
Been through, beyond the lengths that we  
Went to to be here after all  
And though we sometimes stumble and you're scared  
I'm always there to catch your fall..._

Sakura wiped the tears that were threatening to fall down her face and ran outside, following her pure instincts. Naruto was a few steps behind her, also worried about his friend and rival. When they stumbled across the Uchiha compound, Naruto gathered all his courage, held Sakura's hand, and went inside the abandoned place. Sakura's hand gripped her friend's tightly, frightened how the compound became so quiet and dark. Once they rounded up the corner, they finally found the person they were desperately looking for, standing in front of his house in the rain.

"Sasuke-kun, why did you leave the hospital?" she winced, the first word should have been a condolence or something, she just had to blurt out this. There was no reaction from the Uchiha so Sakura walked around him in order to see his face.

She wished she hadn't.

_It's hard, I know  
So much we can't control  
You watch, wonder, and hope  
For all the best  
For us  
I know for you  
It must be painful to  
Carry us still but you  
Always carry through  
When I need you  
Your silence, feigned indifference gets you by  
And though I'm trying I can't tell you when we'll fly  
Just know..._

"Sasuke…kun" she stuttered as lightning and thunder resounded all around them. She never saw anyone look so… defeated, so lost. She covered her mouth, tears spilling down her face. Unable to bear it, she let out a loud sob as she started crying her hearts out. Never has she ever seen such a broken face before and it broke her heart to just _look_ at him. His beautiful, _beautiful _onyx eyes were now turned into dull shades of dark grey. There was no longer any sparkle of passion for knowledge or any arrogance in his eyes. Another sob spilled out from her now hoarse throat, becoming loud wails when Sasuke didn't even seem to notice her at all.

Naruto stood in front of both his precious people, his blue eyes slowly losing its color when he saw just how much pain both of them were in. It seemed that for the first time, he had to make the first step in this.

Sakura felt so miserable, trying to stop her tears from flowing down her face. Just then, a warm, wet hand gently held her wrist and pulled. She stumbled, but quickly regained her balance, looking up at Naruto who held both her and Sasuke's hand. She trusted him completely and went back to closing her eyes and crying in place of the black-haired Uchiha beside her. It wasn't until they stopped that she quieted down in order to look at where they were, Naruto's house. Silently, he opened his door and pulled them inside his warm and dry apartment. The rain was just getting worse and it was better they stayed at his house instead of Sasuke's.

_I care I'll lift you up to  
See where I will always  
Be there any time you call  
And I will take us back  
Into a life of more than we've  
Been through, beyond the lengths that we  
Went to to be here after all  
And though we sometimes stumble and you're scared  
I will be there to catch your fall..._

* * *

Sakura's wails softened to quiet sobs and sniffles as she caught up to Naruto's plan. She took off her raincoat and walked towards Naruto's room, grabbing dry towels, a random shirt and pair of pants. Naruto was already boiling the water by the time she arrived to the living room where Sasuke still stood, unmoving. She gulped and led him towards a chair to sit on. Once he did, she took off his soaking shirt and started drying him up to his hair. Sasuke wasn't even staring at anything in particular, but he found the ground more interesting than anything else. Gently, she continued drying his hair until he was dry enough. She grabbed the grey shirt she picked up from Naruto's closet and gave it to him to wear it. Sasuke's lifeless eyes stared at the shirt displayed for him and slowly, he took it and wore it himself. When Naruto arrived, Sakura nodded and went to the kitchen to allow her broken friend some privacy. Naruto would take care of the rest. Some hot chocolate would be good to warm them all up, since its nearing winter and the weather wasn't getting any warmer.

By the time she was done, she brought the three mugs to the living room and placed them on the table. Sasuke has already changed and was completely dry, but he was still staring at the ground while he saw on the wooden chair. Sighing, she gave one of the warm mugs to Naruto who sat on the other side of the room. He thanked her silently and took a sip of the warm, hot chocolate.

"Sasuke…you have to drink to warm up a bit" Sakura's voice cut into the tense silence, the other mug spread towards him to take it, but he made no move to do so…instead…

Sakura let out a small gasp when he leaned his head to rest on her stomach ever so slowly, as if searching for a source of warmth. She turned towards Naruto for some help, but he nodded his head, encouraging her to continue. It was Sakura's job to do the comforting, it always was.

_Still counting down the days  
to when we'll finally arrive  
But I am here now, you are safe now,  
we're O.K. now, we'll survive  
And I will hold you when you cry..._

Making up her mind, she placed the mug on the table and slowly, wrapped her arms around Sasuke's shoulders.

That caused a reaction as Sakura swallowed down a cry of grief when Sasuke started shaking, and she was sure it had nothing to do with the cold. She tightened her grip on his shoulders as she felt him grab her shirt tightly. She couldn't take it anymore, crying was just too tempting. Sobs started forcing its way out of her when he felt her shirt getting wet with salty tears. She made sure that her sobs and wails were loud enough to give her broken friend a chance to cry and sob lightly without anyone of them hearing it.

Sasuke pushed his face deep into Sakura's shirt to hide the tears that already started falling and was so thankful when she started crying loudly, allowing him to cry out softly without them hearing it. Trust Sakura to give him that chance.

_Oh I care I'll lift you up to  
See where I will always  
Be there any time you call  
And I will take us back  
Into a life of more than we've  
Been through, beyond the lengths that we  
Went to to be here after all  
And though we sometimes stumble and you're scared  
I'm always there to catch your fall..._

* * *

Naruto smiled as he spread the blanket over his friends. Sakura has guided Sasuke to a nearby couch and after several minutes, they were both asleep with Sasuke's head on her stomach and a hand still gripping her shirt. Naruto's eyes softened and decided to join them after closing the lights.

They would deal with this tomorrow, he though as he rested his head on the other edge of the couch.

* * *

At break of dawn, Sasuke woke up instantly and quickly looked around him. Before he could get up, he felt a body beside him shift a bit. It took him a moment before he remembered that he was in Naruto's house and another moment to notice that he was gripping Sakura's shirt like she was the last thing on earth. Blushing, he got up from the couch and stared at the people he started getting closer to. They stayed with him all night and took care of him. It turned out that he would need them after all. His muscles wouldn't twitch to show the infamous smirk or smile he usually lets out whenever he thought of the two idiots. The incident yesterday still replayed in his head and he held his head in pain. Why would his brother kill everyone? Why would he do that?

"Sasuke-bastard?" he heard Naruto call his name. Sasuke didn't let him finish, he has made up his mind "Naruto, take care of Sakura. I'm leaving. It's better if we go our separate paths now." It was quiet for some time and secretly, Sasuke wanted a reason, just a small reason to stay here. Shaking that thought out of his head, he started making his way towards the door until Naruto stopped him "Sasuke-bastard, you can't handle this alone. Trust me! No one can go through this alone! You need us!" Sasuke clenched his fist, his heart screaming for him to turn back to them, but his mind blocked out his needs. Before he could take another step, he heard her voice, that voice that would definitely change his stubborn mind.

"Sasuke-kun, please. Please don't leave us." Sakura begged, her voice shaking with grief and sorrow. "Please, don't leave. We will take care of each other, we will heal each other. Please, stay with us" Sasuke gritted his teeth, his resolve slowly disappearing. "Sakura, I'm going to avenge my family's death. I must become stronger. You two are just going to waste my time" This was his last excuse; he was even trying to convince himself that. He heard nothing from both of them and gave sad smile, so this was it.

Sakura and Naruto didn't let him move another step towards the door. In a flash, Naruto appeared right between him and the door while Sakura was hugging his back with her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. "Bastard! Listen to us before you do anything stupid! We will all train together and become stronger together! We will STAY together and there is nothing you can do about it. Once you became our friend, you lost the ability to leave us without us saying so!" Naruto burst out. Sasuke was supposed to be the logical person in the group. Why wasn't he thinking straight!

"Sasuke-kun. We're _here_ for you. We may not know how painful this must be to you, so we are not going to tell you that you are going to be fine. The only thing we can say now is that we are here for you. You are not alone." Sakura exclaimed, but got no response from her friend.

Though her line of vision, she saw Naruto's expression turn from anger to surprise as she felt Sasuke start trembling. She stood in front of him to get a better view of his face, but she didn't get the chance to do so as Sasuke dipped his head on her _warm_ shoulder and let out a long, tired sigh. That's it, his resolve has now been completely shattered and he was thankful for that.

_But I am here now, you are safe now,  
we're O.K. now, we'll survive  
And I will hold you when you cry..._

Sakura cried for him again as she slowly stroked his hair with one arm while the other hugged his shoulders. "We care about you Sasuke" Sakura whispered in his ear, which made him grip her tighter.

_And though we sometimes stumble and you're scared  
I'm always there to catch your fall..._

* * *

Within the shadows, a figure was hiding in a tree a few feet away from Naruto's window. Once he saw what just occurred, he gave a small, sad smile and disappeared. Sasuke will be just fine.

* * *

This is it. I hope you liked this chapter :) please review! Also, Forgive me for any grammatical mistakes. I am only human.


	4. Anytime

I like this chapter and I tried to make it as sweet and fluffy as possible. Again, thank you for reading :)

Disclaimer: Yeah...still don't own Naruto...

* * *

They were ten years old when Naruto was protected.

The three best friends were heading to do their first weekly shopping in Konoha market. It seemed that no matter what Sakura said, Naruto and Sasuke just wouldn't buy the right portions of food and she was worried about their health. As a result, Sakura blurted out one day that they would go shopping together every week in order for the two boys to learn how to shop by their own. They weren't exactly pleased with the idea of doing such a troublesome chore, but one glare from Sakura shut them both up.

As they were strolling along, Naruto and Sasuke were bickering over Sakura's head and humiliating each other in front of everyone. Sakura just sighed, so tired of their constant yelling and tried to block them out of her head, but it seemed impossible since their yelling just seemed to be getting louder, attracting more attention.

"The day you will defeat me will be the day hell freezes over dobe!" Sasuke yelled from Sakura's left side. She twitched, her anger rising on each comment they landed on each other.

"Well get ready for that to happen then, Teme! Cause I _will_ kick your ass all the way…" that's it. Before the two knew what happened, they were stuck to a tree with several kunais embedded in their shirts, which rendered them immobile unless they wanted to ruin and rip their shirt. They stared at the reason of their imprisonment and gulped at the dangerous aura that radiated from their pink-haired friend.

_If her face could get any redder, it would clash horribly with her hair_, Sasuke mused, but he chose preserve his life and not say that outloud.

"You…two" Sakura fumed, her hands shaking and twitching, wanting to strangle them so badly. The two boys, flinched, silently praying for their safety the closer she got to them. It turned out the Sakura was one of the very few people they feared on their list, since they never had the heart to hurt her. "One more word out of you that leads to ANY fight, there will be no more tomato soup and no more RAMEN!! And I mean it! " she threatened.

Naruto quickly nodded, when Sakura was serious, she will never back down on her word. Sakura was satisfied on Naruto's part and trapped Sasuke with her death glare when he didn't do or say anything "well?" she said, tapping her foot impatiently. She didn't have all day.

Sasuke was NOT being ordered by a girl…just threatened. Swallowing up his pride for his sweet, precious tomatoes, he huffed, growling a small "fine" before closing his eyes. Before he could regret his decision, he found himself on the ground after Sakura took out the kunais with a smug look on her face.

"Sakura-chan! Now my shirt is all torn up in places." Naruto whined, observing a small example of Sakura's wrath. The pink-haired girl smiled at him, "Don't worry Naruto, I will stitch it for you tomorrow" Naruto ran out of excuses and gave her a huge grin, same old Naruto.

"Anyways, let's go back to shopping, I have to make sure you (pointing at Naruto) don't fill your kitchen with Ramen and you (Pointing at Sasuke) get the right amount of food" both of the boys huffed, crossing their arms as they followed their little pink-haired friend.

* * *

Once they reached the market, which was blooming with life and happiness, Sakura ran towards the vegetable shop first and took out the bags to start filling it with many varieties of vegetables. She looked at the owner who was staring at them warily for some reason.

"Ano, I would like some of everything except the pickles and radish." Sakura said sheepishly to the shop owner. He looked at her for a while and placed all the types of vegetables she requested. "Can you put some extra tomatoes please, sir?" Sakura added politely. She noticed Sasuke's face perk up as the owner added some extra tomatoes. She giggled quietly and thanked the adult after giving him the money.

And so it went on, Sakura would stop at almost every shop and ask for some of each, getting more of whatever her friends and her loved. An hour later, they were each walking with two bags in their hands. Sakura was satisfied; she did her job and each of her friends had the necessary nutrition they need to stay healthy. Right before they left the market, Naruto accidentally bumped into a child who was a bit younger than him, knocking her to the floor.

"Ah, I'm sorry. Are you okay?" Naruto said kindly, extending a friendly hand towards the young girl to take. She smiled and nodded, about to take his offered hand when they heard a female shriek a few feet away from them.

"Kaho! Get away from him!" Her mother yelled, running hysterically towards her child. When she reached, she pushed Naruto away roughly, making him fall to the ground harshly. Without a care if he was hurt or not, the mother collected the child in her arms and glared down at Naruto.

"You stay away from my child you monster! What were you trying to do to her?!" the mother held her child protectively in her arms, her yelling catching everyone's attention as they stared at the blond-haired boy in the ground with disapproving glares. Naruto didn't answer back to her outburst as he stared at the ground, his bag of grocery all on the ground, dirty and destroyed. Before anyone can do anything else, he was surprised when he saw two pairs of feet in front of him, shielding him from everyone's view. He looked up, seeing Sakura and Sasuke standing in front of him with their arms spread open as an act to protect him.

"Naruto didn't do anything! It was an accident! He even apologized!" Sakura said, her emerald eyes now sharp jade, protective of her friend. Everyone was shocked that someone like her was protecting someone like him.

"You better leave and let everyone continue on to what they were doing" Sasuke said coldly, turning back to take his share of bags in one hand while the other reached out towards Naruto. The Kyuubi holder stared at the hand for a while before finally going out of his shock. He clasped Sasuke's hand firmly; as if afraid he might recoil at his touch.

Whispers could be heard everywhere in the market as Sakura collected whatever was left of Naruto's grocery and placed them on her bags. They were also staring at Sasuke with surprised eyes, talking about the massacre of the clan. It seemed that even after a year, he was still looked upon and pitied by the eyes of the citizens in Konoha and Sasuke hated that more than anything. He wanted to run away from their stares, be gone from their sight. When Sakura was done, she went back to standing next to her scared and quiet friend. She held his hand, but before they can leave, the same mother recoiled back.

"Where are your parents, young lady? Do they know that you are hanging out with a monster like _him_" she spit out, glaring so hard at Naruto to the point that he took a silent step back. Sakura glared back at the woman who dared to talk like that to Naruto when she didn't even know him. Why was she calling him a monster?

"Hai, Hai. Calm down lady. They are just kids. Just leave, nothing happened to your child." the three academy students heard someone saying behind them. Shocked, they turned around, having not sensed the jounin's presence until he spoke. He had grey hair that leaned on a weird angle with a mask covering his nose and mouth. His right eye was the only visible thing of his face, since his left one was covered by his forehead protector. Beside him was another jounin with dark hair and a cigarette in his mouth.

"You know what happens if you continue bringing attention to the children here." The same jounin said, glaring with his one eye. The mother looked at them, considering his words for a moment before huffing.

"Make sure this never happens again, boy." She cast one last glare at Naruto before leaving the market with her child safely in her arms. Sakura let out a sigh of relief before she turned towards the jounin and smiled at them.

"Thank you jounin-san!" without another glance at them, she forcefully placed her bags in Naruto's left hand as she grabbed his right one along with Sasuke's left hand, pulling them along with her. Both boys reacted upon her action. Sasuke was surprised at how warm she was and unconsciously, clasped her hand tighter, looking away so as no one would see his blush. He suddenly felt safe when she held his hands back firmly, as if she knew how tense he was around the people's curious eyes.

Naruto was surprised at how she pulled him out of his revere. After he was able to make up what just happened, he slowly regained back his giddiness as he smiled and clasped Sakura's hand just as tightly, feeling warm and loved. For the first time, someone has protected him from all the glares the people of Konoha would sometimes cast his way.

_For the very first time_, he thought as he looked at his pink-haired angel with tender eyes. His gaze then went towards his rival, who stood beside him when he was unable to protect himself. He wasn't that bad as well.

"Thank you" he whispered, really thankful. Both his friends heard him and gave out a small smile, silently whispering one word to him.

'_Anytime'_

* * *

When they reached Naruto's apartment, Sakura all but demanded to be the one who placed all the food he bought in the refrigerator. Naruto's eyes softened when he saw her put some of her portions in his fridge, since some of his groceries were squished and dirtied back in the market. When she was done with her task, she cast a big smile and bid Naruto goodbye.

"Let's go Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke has offered to take Sakura home and she was glad he did. She suspected he did it to make sure she arrived home without bumping into any stranger.

"Sakura-chan" she heard Naruto stop her before leaving. Sasuke silently told them that he would be waiting downstairs; feeling like this is between his two friends. When he was out of sight, Naruto clasped his friend's hand tightly. Before Sakura could say anything to Naruto's sudden reaction, she was kissed in the cheek softly. To say that she was surprised would be an understanding, for this was highly unexpected of Naruto to do this. Naruto ran a hand through his golden hair, grinning with a small blush on his face.

"Thank you Sakura-chan." He said again after he saw his pink-haired angel regain back her original color.

Sakura knew that this was a friendly kiss, for his feelings were loud and clear. He was thanking her. She couldn't help but give him her usual smile, lightening Naruto's heart greatly.

* * *

Sakura met Sasuke downstairs with her own bag of groceries. It seemed that Sasuke was impatient since he was late for his training in the forest. Sakura just had to roll her eyes, noticing that it was only sunset.

"It's about time. Come on." He said, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards her home. Sakura smiled at his protective hold and knew that even if he didn't show it, he cared deeply about her and Naruto. It was just a matter of time.

Sasuke felt his insides warm up every time he held her hand, but he'd rather die than let her know that. She would never know how much she meant to him, it was better this way.

Once the two reached Sakura's house, Sasuke didn't know what to say for today. The only thing that he could possibly say was…

"Thank you Sakura" his beautiful onyx eyes bored into Sakura's emerald ones, surprising her greatly. It felt to her that Sasuke was expressing his gratitude with eye contact and Sakura was completely okay with that. She smiled and nodded, telling him silently that she was there for him. That she was there for _both_ of them.

'_Anytime'_

* * *

Thank you for reading and please review! I hope I didn't make Sasuke look very...er...how do you say it? Naruto-like? eh....yeah.

Again, I apologize for any mistakes. Next chapter will be so much better!!

Sadbird


	5. Sick and Tired

Sorry! It has been a while since I last updated and I hope you find this chapter pleasing. It's not my best, but it a good one!

Same Disclaimer

Random thoughts: Massages are awesome!

* * *

They were 11 years old when Sakura got sick.

"She's late" Sasuke exclaimed, his eyes twitching every now and then from the group of fan girls staring at his back. He didn't even want to know the thoughts that are crossing their minds right now.

"That's weird, Sakura-chan is always early" Naruto agreed, staring at the door of their classroom, oblivious to the girls trailing after his friend. Sasuke kept glancing at the door repeatedly, thinking that Sakura would burst through it any second now.

Usually, she would be the first to arrive and greet both of them with her traditional grin. This time, she wasn't here when they arrived to the classroom. Sasuke shook it off and came to a conclusion that she may have slept in. However, Naruto was worried.

What got both of them more anxious was when Iruka entered the classroom, signaling the beginning of the lesson. The two boys stared at each other with serious expressions; they would visit her in the end of the day.

* * *

Coughing could be heard all around the Haruno household, but no one was even there to hear it. A pink-haired girl was in her bed, wrapped up with multiple blankets, but no matter how wrapped up she was, she still felt so cold and sick. Sakura heaved, trying to breathe through her nose so as not to feel too nauseous. She didn't have the energy to crawl towards the bathroom, since her muscles felt like rubber. Tears escalated down her face, wishing that her family was here to take care of her. They left about two days ago with her baby brother to a village to sell some of their merchandise, leaving poor Sakura alone. She had never felt so alone in her entire life. She felt so utterly miserable and in desperate need of someone's company, but she couldn't move from the bed. She has been lying on the futon for hours already and the urge to vomit was never decreasing. Sakura coughed heavily, panting after every cough to catch her breath. She could even taste her bile, that's it. With all the strength she could muster, she pushed her tired, sick body to the extremes as she tried to crawl her way towards the bathroom.

_

* * *

_

Sasuke…Naruto…

she thought as more tears trickled down her face. She was able to make her way to the restroom and purge everything that was in her stomach, which wasn't much since she didn't have anything for breakfast or lunch. After flushing and washing her hands with great difficulty, she allowed her legs to fail her as she hit the floor harshly.

_It's so cold…_Sakura was shivering, her teeth clattering together, but what was most important was that she had to make it back to her warm bed. She almost regretted leaving her futon; it was going to take her some time to go back there. She then knew she was seriously ill when her vision started becoming blurry and her body began to have chills. Giving up, she began crying softly, lying on the cold floor after feeling how useless her actions were. Before her body could shut down, she heard her bedroom door open.

It seems like her prayer was answered, and she was ecstatic to see the presence of her boys. While she was happy of the fact that she wasn't alone anymore, Sasuke and Naruto were horrified when they found their female friend slumped on her cold floor. Sasuke's didn't care to keep his aloof expression as he quickly ran towards her, raising her upper body to find out what's wrong with her. Luckily, she was still conscious and…smiling?

"Sakura! Why the hell are you on the ground!? And why are you smiling about it!?" Sasuke burst out, worried about how pale her face was. Without waiting for her to answer, Naruto and Sasuke carried her carefully to the bed.

"She has a very high fever," Sasuke exclaimed through clenched teeth, feeling her forehead. Her coughing fits were violent and constant, worrying the two boys even more.

"Guys, it's okay. I'll get better in no time–" Sakura was trying to assure her boys that she was fine, but she began coughing again. Naruto gave Sasuke a meaningful glance before bursting out of the house. He was going to search for help, since they didn't know anything about her sickness and moving her to the hospital might be dangerous. Sasuke sighed and gave a small, quick glare at Sakura.

"Why were you on the floor?" he asked again, his anxiousness resided slowly when she was able to breathe better again. Sakura explained to him what she was trying to do and how tired and useless her body was to allow her to ask for help. When she was done, she looked back at Sasuke sheepishly, silently apologizing for worrying them like that. Sasuke ruffled his black hair, trying to figure out what to do with her…not to mention that she was _still_ smiling.

"Why the hell are you smiling in a situation like this!?" he yelled, getting aggravated for not being able to understanding her actions. He heard her sigh as pulled the covers closer to her and was met by silence. After what seemed like hours when it was only a few minutes, Sasuke was about to repeat his question when he heard her soft, deep breaths. The young Uchiha sighed again and went to pick up all the clothes and trash scattered in her room, it was better she slept now and rest. Naruto should be here any minute now.

* * *

Just as he thought, he heard a loud poof somewhere in the living room and he waited for the familiar presence to enter the room.

"Sasuke! Sakura-chan! I brought some help!" Naruto's enthusiastic voice reached his ear. Sasuke sighed for the third time in the last hour as Naruto came into view, along with the Hokage and a nurse. Alarmed and quite surprised, he gave a small bow to the Hokage and stared at Naruto confused.

"I ran into Old Man here and told him what happened to Sakura-chan. He took the best medical ninja in Konoha and transported us all here!" Naruto ended with a wide grin as the nurse scrambled towards the sick child with worry. The Hokage just smiled at Sasuke's expression when he kept glancing at Sakura every now and then to check if the nurse is doing her job right. Naruto stood beside Sasuke and everyone kept quiet for the medic-nin to do her job.

* * *

"Hokage-sama, it seems that the young girl was poisoned" the doctor explained after several minutes of prodding into her body, surprised as well as the rest of the people.

"WHAT!?" Naruto yelled, furious at who would poison his Sakura-chan while Sasuke cursed for not figuring this out sooner. The Hokage narrowed his eyes, wondering who would poison a child and where did that poison come from anyway. He looked back at the female doctor and gave a scary look.

"I want a full report on the poison's formula and effects. Have the report on my desk by tomorrow morning, is that understood, Yuuki?" the Doctor, Yuuki, gulped and nodded, determined to take out the poison from the girl. It wasn't anything serious, but if it wasn't out of the girl's system soon, it may kill her through time.

Naruto and Sasuke were struck speechless at what just happened, both of them terrified of almost losing their friend. Sakura was the reason Naruto and Sasuke were able to go on with their life, though the latter wouldn't admit it anytime. They were so close to losing her and that feeling was enough for them to strive to become stronger in order to protect her.

The Hokage, Sarutobi, smiled as he watched the chemistry between the three children. They would be the perfect example of the Fire of Konoha. Ushering the both of them outside the room as Yuuki worked on Sakura, he hoped that the next generation would correct the mistakes of their grandfathers.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Naruto started walking back and forth while Sasuke fidgeted every now and then. The Uchiha looked back at the calm Hokage, wondering why is he still here. He heard from his late parents that the Hokages were always busy with paper work and keeping Konoha safe. Unable to contain himself, he asked "Hokage-sama, why are you still here?" Sarutobi smiled at him kindly, surprising the Uchiha greatly.

"The children of Konoha are my important people and I would do anything for them, for they will be the future of Konoha. The fact that someone was able to poison our children without us knowing is very dangerous and threatening. There may be a spy here as well, so its better I stay here until Yuuki is done" The Hokage explained, satisfying Sasuke's curiosity. Before he can think of any other question, someone suddenly interrupted him.

"Hokage-sama, we've investigated Haruno Sakura's daily action in the past two days and we believe that we have a trail." An ANBU said beside a shocked Sasuke. Staring at the ANBU with amazement, he secretly wished to be just like him. The Hokage nodded and stood up when he saw Yuuki descending the stairway, looking tired, but satisfied. She nodded at the Hokage before disappearing with the ANBU.

"So? Is Sakura-chan okay Old Man?" Naruto yelled; tense but ready for the results.

"It appears that Yuuki was able to extract the poison out of Sakura's system, so she is safe for the time being." The Hokage explained; glad to see they relaxed from his news.

"Wait, 'for the time being'? Do you mean that she is still in danger?" Sasuke caught up, suspicious and tense again. The Hokage shook his head, "There is a very small chance whoever did this will come back, but I highly doubt it. Just to be safe, I will assign an ANBU to keep watch so you two don't have to worry about anything."

* * *

The first thing Sakura noticed when she opened her eyes, was that she wasn't feeling as bad as she thought she would. Her vision wasn't blurry and her strength was slowly but surely coming back to her. Smiling, she slowly sat up when a hand on her shoulder pushed her back down.

"You shouldn't be moving" Sasuke said, ignoring her gaze before he went to finish cleaning the room. Sakura knew from the beginning that Naruto and Sasuke would be here and so it didn't come much of a surprise to her. She sighed, urging her muscles to calm down as she stared at the back of the Uchiha.

"What are you doing Sasuke?" Sakura's hoarse voice broke the silence in the room, but it was ignored as Sasuke kept prancing around the room, picking up trash and clothes he sees every now and then. Sakura wasn't exactly the person he would call neat freak, but she is clean and organized enough to make sure nothing hit her floor, so what worried him was how everything was scattered everywhere around them. She must have been too tired to pick them up, which also made him wonder how long was she sick? They haven't seen each other for almost a week now, since all of them were busy with exams and training. He almost felt guilty he did not check on Sakura and Naruto for the time they weren't together.

Sakura was just happy they were here, that's all what she could think of. She is not alone, suffering from this illness by herself. Sasuke then explained to her the reason she wasn't feeling well these past couple of days. Before contemplating on her case, Naruto came in with bowls of…Ramen.

"Sakura-chan! Since you are not feeling well, I thought of making some Ramen for all of us! It will bring back your energy in no time!" Naruto exclaimed as he placed the Miso Ramen (Sakura's favorite) on her lap. Sakura and Sasuke just sighed; that was so typical of Naruto to do.

Before Sasuke can scold Naruto for making her eat something so_ unhealthy_, he was surprised to hear a loud growl coming from Sakura. The said girl held her stomach, blushing and laughing softly at the same time.

"I think I got back my appetite and I am famished!" Sakura said, scratching her head shyly. Both boys gave her a small smile before eating their fill of Ramen.

* * *

That Night…

Sakura sighed as she lay on her bed with fresh, new pajamas. Her hair was still slightly wet from her recent shower, but she felt so much better than the afternoon. It was night time now and her friends have left several hours ago after constantly reassuring them that she was fine. Now, she could focus on studying on the history of the Shodai and Nidaime, since it was certainly coming in her next big exam. She wasn't a genius for nothing, but sometime, you just have to work hard to get the highest marks in the written exams. She grinned inwardly when she knew that Sasuke occupied the first place the other activities, it was just that obvious he was highly skilled. Her thoughts then took her to Naruto and she just had to sigh; she just prayed that he wouldn't in more than a subject.

* * *

Sasuke was having a nightmare. No, it was more of a memory that constantly invaded his mind. He was reliving the bloody massacre of his clan two years ago and it was horrible. Watching your parents dying in front of him over and over again was just so horrible that Sasuke woke up with a loud scream. Panting heavily, his wide eyes searched his cold room for any intruder, reassuring himself that there wasn't anyone there to kill him in his sleep. Several minutes after that horrible memory, Sasuke managed to labor his breathing and calm down. Messaging his temples, he kept repeating the words in his mind.

_It was just a dream_

_Just a dream_

_A dream…_

No matter how many times he said that, he jumped at the slightest sound coming from insects in the trees, owls, or the wind. An hour later, he gave up trying to sleep and contemplated if he should just go train. Maybe he would train hard enough to come back home and pass out. Just then, Sakura appeared in his head and the moment it did, he disappeared from his room.

* * *

Sakura was reading the thick book again when she head and soft knock on her window. Jumping for being caught completely off guard, she turned to her right to see the intruder.

"Sasuke?" Sakura sighed in relief, holding her erratic heart as she walked slowly towards the window and unlocked it. The young Uchiha came in, raising an eyebrow at the pink-haired girl.

"Why aren't you asleep? It's almost two in the morning" Sasuke proclaimed, waiting for her to answer him. She would be resting and sleeping instead of occupying herself with 'some light reading' as she once has said. Sakura fidgeted at his hard gaze and slowly pointed at the book on her bed.

"I haven't been studying the past two days and exams are so close. I can't just sit here and fail!" Sakura explained, as if it was something he should have known. Irritated, Sasuke shoved his hands in his pocket and walked towards her bed. Confused, Sakura followed him slowly, since she was still a little weak from the poison and stared at Sasuke, who was also staring at the thick book. Grabbing it with his left hand, he raised an eyebrow at his stupid friend.

"This won't even be coming until two months. The exam next week is about the Sandaime and the Yondaime" Sasuke said, confused as to why she was reading this right now. Sakura huffed and explained, "You can't just read about Sandaime before reading about the first two Hokages. This would just ruin everything and confuse you." Sighing, she went back to the bed, already tired from such a small argument. After taking her book from the young Uchiha, she plopped down with her back leaning on the pillows in the middle of her double bed.

"You had that dream again didn't you?" It wasn't a question; it was a pure statement she knew was true. Sasuke looked paler than usual and he was beginning to have dark circles under his onyx eyes. She took his silence as a 'yes' and scooted over a bit to give him some space to sit on the bed with her. Just as she expected, she felt Sasuke's weight on her right side and inwardly smiled when he went under the blankets and shifted slightly in order to make himself comfortable.

Sakura was so_ warm_. Sasuke couldn't help but be surrounded by her warmth the moment his head hit the pillow. She had such a soothing presence and he wondered why he felt so safe and calm every time he went near her. This was such a strange feeling. Before he could even contemplate on his thoughts and musings, he let Sakura's warm chakra flood him as he slowly welcomed the darkness. Even then, no dreams invaded his tired mind.

* * *

Sakura gazed at Sasuke with sad, watery eyes. He would always come to her whenever he had that horrible nightmare. She remembered the first time he dreamt of it and it was a couple of days right after the massacre. She was going to visit Sasuke to give him some tomato soap, but before she could knock on the door, she heard him screaming. Breaking the door open, she saw him on the couch of the living room, clutching his head hard and letting out silent tears. One thing led to another and Sakura was humming Sasuke a lullaby she sang to her brother (though she would NEVER tell him) and he was asleep the moment she felt him relax.

Today was no exception as she started humming her lullaby smoothly and softly to him. He needed them and she would do anything for him not to fall down and give up and she _knew_ that Naruto would do the same thing. She owed Itachi to take care of him after all. Even if he was the bad guy, he was also a very sad person who wanted to be loved, but couldn't because he was considered a prodigy who never had time for such a weak emotion. Deep inside, she wished he would find whatever it was he was looking for. (Another thing she will NEVER tell Sasuke)

It turned out that she was deep into her thinking, for she heard someone knocking on her window softly _again._ A smile made a way through her lips as Naruto opened the window and walked towards her.

"Hey Sakura-chan. I just came to check up on you and it seems that I'm not the only one" Naruto whispered sheepishly. It seemed that Naruto knew what happened to Sasuke because he looked at his friend, aka rival, with sad eyes "He had that dream again?" he asked after a while, but something in Sakura said that he wasn't asking a question, so she returned back to her book. She smiled once she felt another weight fall on her left.

"What are you reading?" Naruto asked, peeked over her shoulders, but gagged when he knew what the book was. Sakura sighed, "Naruto, you have to learn about this as well. This exam is important and so is the next one. Don't tell me you want to fail them as well?" Naruto pouted as Sakura flipped through the pages and began reading to the Kyuubi holder all the important factors. Naruto listened in attentively; the story she was telling was (surprisingly) very interesting, much more than when he reads it alone, so he tried his best to understand everything she was saying.

* * *

During her explanation, Sasuke woke up for a brief moment with the voice of both Naruto and Sakura. He had to admit, waking up with their voices wasn't half bad. It distracted him from all the unpleasant thoughts. He then realized that Sakura was reading the book out loud for Naruto, so he joined in, raising his head slightly.

'_Smart Sakura is a very useful Sakura'_ Sasuke mused as he learned new facts from the girl's own explanation. Half way through her reading, Sasuke couldn't help but fall back to sleep, he was so tired.

Sakura had to stop once she heard a soft snore coming from her left side. Looking at Naruto, Sakura smiled softly when she saw him already asleep. Sasuke must have also followed in his footsteps later. They must have been really exhausted. Sighing softly so as not wake them up, Sakura silently closed the book and snuggled deeper into the covers. When she was comfortable enough, she quickly went to sleep.

They would study later. Right now, her friends were with her and that is all what she ever wanted.

* * *

Phew, Done. Next chapter would be awesome cause they will be a team finally! Please stay tuned until next time! "Our Promise"

Sadbird


	6. Our Promise

Hey everyone! I'm glad that many people have been reading my story. I hope you enjoy this :)

Same Disclaimer

Random Thought: I wish I can live with Sasuke *sighs*

* * *

They were twelve years old when they became a team.

"Introduce yourselves. Your names, likes, dislikes, and your dreams" Kakashi said, watching his new students to what seemed to them with one lazy eye. However, he was inwardly reading their body language, amused from all the stories he has heard about these children. Having them as a team may not be so bad after all. His eyes (or…eye) trailed towards the Kyuubi container, waiting for him to start. Taking the hint, surprisingly, Naruto grinned.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like Ramen and Sakura-chan…" at this, Kakashi raised an amused eyebrow, "What I dislike is waiting three minutes for the Ramen to get ready and I also dislike Sasuke-teme. My dream…is to one day become the Hokage and for the people of Konoha to acknowledge me as a worthy shinobi!" Sakura let out a small giggle as Sasuke smirked, ignoring the dislike part. Typical Naruto.

Kakashi gave a small smile before moving on to the female of the team. Sakura jumped slightly for being the center of attention and started fidgeting with her shirt.

"Ah, my name is Haruno Sakura. I like training and reading scrolls, especially about medical jutsus. Uh, I dislike people who enjoy making fun of others. I also dislike anyone hurting my friends and brother. My dream? I would like to be a medical ninja and a damn good one too! Naruto and Sasuke tend to fight a lot and if I had the power to heal, then they can fight all they want and I can punch them for being stupid and hurt in the first place!" Sakura stated happily. Naruto gulped; scooting away from her while Sasuke stared at her wearily. He had no doubt she would do what she just said. On the other hand, Kakashi chuckled, that was a very interesting dream. Lastly, his gaze took him to the Uchiha survivor, his expression now serious and grave.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are very little things I like and many things I dislike. Tomatoes and training is placed on my categories of likes. What I hate are loud and annoying people (fangirls). My dream, which is also a goal because I _will_ make it happen, is to kill a certain man. I want to be strong enough to achieve this goal in order to protect my precious people." Sasuke ended his statement, leaving his two friends…teammates now smiling. Kakashi approved of his goal, it was only his right as the last remaining Uchiha, but what surprised him was when he declared the other two as his precious people. He remembered a certain incident two years ago in the market and smiled. Their relationship has gotten much stronger than last time.

"Very well. I found you three interesting enough. Tomorrow, I want all of you to be at the training ground at five in the morning. Oh, and don't eat breakfast, unless you would like to throw them back out of your stomach" With that statement, the amused, one-eyed Jounin disappeared with a loud poof, leaving three freshly new Genins alone.

* * *

It was two months later when they were coming back from their most recent C-rank mission to Wave Country. It was their most intense and dramatic battle of all. Sasuke has almost died while Naruto almost lost control of the nine-tailed beast. It was hectic and as Team 7 camped out at night to get some sleep, there was nothing but silence. Several hours later, it seemed that no one was able to sleep; still tense and shaken from what happened in the mission. Sakura was depressed and felt so useless because she couldn't do anything to help her teammates and they almost died from her weakness. She trained so much and all this training has done nothing to her. Perfect chakra control does nothing to a ninja if he doesn't know what to use it for. It frustrated Sakura to no end and she couldn't even sleep. Before any tears can spill from her emerald eyes, she heard Naruto speak.

"I don't know about you guys, but this last mission had me thinking…" he started, knowing fully well that his teammates were awake. Sasuke stayed quiet, clenching his fist every now and then while Sakura turned her head upwards to look at him. They were forming a circle with only their heads touching, so Naruto was able to sense her slight movement as he continued, "Right now, I want to be Hokage more than anyone else and I promise that I will be one of the strongest ninjas alive, strong enough not to let this happen again. I will be strong enough to protect my precious people. I promise you guys that." He said, his eyes flashing with determination. Before he knew it, Sakura grasped his left hand tightly.

"You will need someone to organize and help with your paper work since you will probably suck at it. There is no choice but to stay by your side then. I am sure that your path to bring Hokage will be tough so I will also be the Head Medic-nin in ANBU! That way, I will help you in your journey by healing every wound you get. You _and_ Sasuke. I will be a strong Kunoichi _and_ a medical ninja, just like one of the Legendary Sannin, Tsunade-sama. That is definitely a promise!" she exclaimed, her pink blocking her view of her boys.

Naruto squeezed Sakura's hand, glad that she would be with him in his journey. Sasuke listened in to their conversation and let out an amused snort.

"Both of you will leave me with no choice then. We all know that you guys are weak and reckless at times. You will need me to stop you from acting like idiots. One day, and just you wait, I will be Head ANBU Captain. This is my promise. I will be in charge of helping you out as well, 'Hokage-sama'" he said the last part sarcastically, pleased to know that Naruto stiffened from anger. Not letting him get interrupted, he continued, "Of course, I will need…Sakura's help as well. Both Naruto and I can't make it without…you" Admitting his feelings towards them is hard, so he settled with going step by step. It made him feel better…lighter.

Sakura let out a huge smile as she grasped Sasuke's right hand and sighed, contemplating about the future. Sasuke's hand tingled all the way down to his toes as he took a small intake of breath. This feeling was like nothing he felt before. Why did he feel that way? She held his hands many times before and he never felt this way. Taking a quick glance her way, he felt his cheeks flare up. Ever since he found her crying for him (and on him) when she thought he was dead, his heart ached and swore to never let her cry for him again.

Naruto knew that they had a long way ahead of them, but they will make it step by step. First, they will pass the Chuunin exams, then the Jounin exams. Of course, they have to pass their ANBU exams, which will the toughest part of their journey, but they will make it. Naruto's heart must have been soaring up high right now. The three of them has just made a promise that will hold strong for the rest of their lives.

Kakashi was sitting on a branch, listening in to the conversation. Chuckling, he opened his perverted book and thought of many training sessions that will strengthen them all up and help them achieve their life-long dreams. It will be tough, he was sure, but their power of will definitely be able to help them all the way.

* * *

At that same, two figures were having a conversation inside the borders of Sound Country. The first figure had silver hair and glasses that covered his black eyes. The other figure was pale with unusual yellow eyes, that of a snake.

"Orochimaru-sama, isn't it about time we start moving?" the first figure said, adjusted his glasses. The second person, Orochimaru, let out an evil laugh, his eyes flashing with malice.

"Patience Kabuto. I will get him when the time comes. We just have to wait for the Chuunin exams to arrive. I'm sure he won't miss the opportunity to enter it." Orochimaru smirked, excited with what will come. Soon, he will have that body that would make him invincible. Sasuke-kun's body.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Konoha, Sakura was busy training with Kakashi in the early morning and trying to stand on water for as long as possible. She's been training for several hours as Kakashi kept giving her hints on how to stabilize her chakra. When she was able to stand on water for a full ten minutes without falling, she grinned at her teacher and cheered.

"Kakashi-sensei! I did it!" Kakashi was really surprised at how fast she could learn. It's been only two hours since they have started training and she already mastered walking on water. Her chakra control can be considered perfect, much better than his.

When they arrive back to Konoha two days ago, Sakura went up to her teacher and demanded to be trained more on her chakra control. Honestly, Kakashi didn't know what more to give her and actually considered to start giving her lessons on being a medical ninja. He had some scrolls Rin left him before she died and it may turn out to be useful for Sakura. Now, since she has already mastered the walking on water part, he would start giving her those scrolls and focus on her stamina, since it's the weakness she has.

"Good job Sakura. You managed to do it faster than I expected" Kakashi said with a smile, proud of his student. Sakura was gleaming from being appraised by her teacher, but before she could do anything, she saw Sasuke walking towards them, making her immediately lose her footing. Kakashi sighed once he heard a splash resounding in the area and turned to Sasuke, who was turning out to be a source of distraction for the pink-haired girl lately.

Getting out of the cold water, Sakura panted and mentally strangled herself for losing focus. Her heart began going at an erratic pace whenever the Uchiha came near her, which got her so confused. She never felt anything like this before with him, so why was she feeling this now. Before she can go further into her thoughts, she heard her teacher talking.

"It's good to see you coming early Sasuke. Sakura, go home and change back into dry clothes and for your next training…" Kakashi gave Sakura an evil look and she immediately knew it was going to be hell, "…try to be here in ten minutes flat" Sakura gasped and before wasting any time, disappeared from the bridge Team 7 always meet it. Kakashi chuckled and silently started counting the minutes before Sasuke said, "You know that it takes about ten minutes to _reach_ her house….running?" Kakashi mused at the Uchiha's slight concern and nodded.

"Ah, Sasuke. You will never know" Kakashi stated with his face buried deep into his precious book. Sasuke sighed and leaned on the railing, waiting for his teammates to arrive, as usual. Having nothing better to do, Sasuke reminisced back to the C-rank mission as he absentmindedly traced the scar he got. He was so near death and didn't want to experience that ever again. He actually was about to give up on life itself until he heard voices, pulling him back. Seeing Sakura and Naruto's relieved expressions when he woke up had him thinking. He was in this world for a reason, all of them known to him. Soon, he will have to admit his feelings to the two idiots. Just at the mere thought of it, he felt his heart beating so much faster. He didn't know the exact true feelings he had for the two, so once he can figure out something, he would tell them. One day.

A loud poof could be heard in the middle of the bridge and Sasuke turned around in surprise…why? Because Haruno Sakura appeared from the smoke, coughing and panting at the same time. Kakashi and Sasuke were gawking at her, wondering where the hell did she learn this technique. Oblivious to the two staring at her, she grinning.

"I made it in time! HELL YEAH!" Sakura yelled, jumping up and down, unable to conceal her excitement. Sasuke heard the Copy Ninja chuckling from behind his book as Naruto started appearing as well.

"It seemed our Sakura-chan is already becoming stronger" Kakashi exclaimed, proud of all his students. Sakura smiled and waved to Naruto when he reached the meeting place. The Kyuubi couldn't help but return her smile with his infamous grin, feeling himself lighter and happier every time he looked at her. As the three Genins started talking about their training with one another, Kakashi felt something change within them. Feelings towards each other were growing at a rapid pace. He can clearly see how each of them completes one another and it slightly worried him. They must not be completely dependent on one another; it would be seen as a weakness against enemies.

"Kakashi-sensei! What are we training in today? You promised to help us become stronger!" Naruto yelled out, staring at his teacher with unconcealed excitement. Kakashi smiled, he will make their 'weakness' their strength.

"I will train you to depend on each other's strength. I want you all to use all your abilities together to become invincible. It will take a lot of practice since you will have to read your teammates' minds throughout your battle. Also, I will train you each to master your skills and where you excel in. Your weak points I will be working on with you. If we stick to the eight-hour training program, I am sure you three will be strong enough to achieve your dreams." Kakashi finished his explanation, leaving three Genins shocked and at the same time, shaking with anticipation. They actually couldn't wait to start!

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Sasuke said, walking towards their training ground. Naruto and Sakura smiled as they went up to the Uchiha and walked on either side of him. Kakashi smiled and found himself impatient to see them grow up, maybe the Hokage was right. Maybe they _will_ correct the mistakes of their ancestors. He would be there to help them achieve the dream he always wanted to achieve when _his_ teammates were here.

* * *

Done! Next chapter will be a better, at least, that's what I think. Please stay tuned and I thank everyone who has been reviewing me and commenting on my writing! It helped! I will follow what you say, but I just need your patience.

Sadbird.


	7. Our Hearts Call Out to You

Hello everyone! Once again, I would like to thank everyone who read my stories and reviewed them. It meant a lot :) Now this chapter is awesome and it took time for me to finish it. Enjoy.

Same Disclaimer

Random Thoughts: I...have...to...study o.O

* * *

They were thirteen years old when they left.

_Soon, Sasuke-kun will come looking for me for power_ Orochimaru's voice kept invading Sakura's mind. She shivered inwardly when she also remembered Sasuke's lust for blood after waking up from the battle with the snake-sannin.

Four months has passed after they failed the Chuunin exams and after the death of the third Hokage. It was also four months since Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannins, gave Sasuke the cursed seal and invited him for power. However, Sasuke didn't want to go the Pedophile and convinced his teammates that he will get stronger _without him._ He all but demanded Kakashi to seal away whatever Orochimaru gave him in order to have complete control over the dangerous seal.

Now, Tsunade has taken her teacher's position as the Fifth Hokage of Konoha. In those four months, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto have become much stronger. One can even say that they have surpassed all the teams of the Rookie nine, excluding Gai's team of course, since their team genius, Hyuuga Neji, was among them. Sakura became the expert in Genjutsu and Medic Jutsus, but of course she has not reached the level she wanted yet. Her perfect chakra control helped her progress greatly but she feels that there was still something missing.

Sasuke has now three Tomoe in his sharingan and can read his enemy's attacks perfectly, frustrating his teammates, since they could never land any hit on the Uchiha these days. Only once, Naruto was able to give him a good punch in the face once he saw the smug expression on his rival's face. With the help of Jiraya, Naruto learned the Rasengan and improved his Ninjutsu and Taijutsu skills. Kakashi also managed to teach Sasuke the Chidori when he knew that the Uchiha can control one of the five elements, electricity.

* * *

Today, Team 7 were training and have been fighting against each other for about an hour now. Kakashi had his lovely book by his side and enjoyed the yelling and screaming his students were doing in the middle of the training ground. However, he could clearly see how all three of them were working extra hard nowadays from what happened on their last mission a week ago. It was the first time they went on a mission alone without their teacher and it was a catastrophe. Luckily, Naruto healed fast and was able to endure the journey back to Konoha while carrying his teammates. His broken wrist and the gash on his waist were partially healed by the time he arrived. On the other hand, Sasuke came back with two broken ribs and a head injury while Sakura arrived unconscious and bruised all over, hence the reason why Team 7 couldn't come back from their mission unscathed. Sakura, who was always there to heal every bruise or broken bone, was injured badly and had to stay in the hospital, in a coma, for a total of three days. Sasuke and Naruto stayed by her side, occasionally leaving just to grab a bite and to shower. When Sakura woke up on the fourth day, she held her gaze on her two teammates and teacher and yelled out that they should train harder when she was in a better shape. That explained today's training session.

* * *

"AAAAH!" Sakura yelled as she tried with all her might to punch the Uchiha, but his damn sharingan kept getting in the way. She leapt out of the way to dodge a kick Naruto sent her and twisted to wrap her legs around his neck, causing him to be immobile…unless he wanted to choke or break his neck. Before she can give the final blow, she heard Sasuke yell out a very familiar fire Jutsu. The two teammates on the ground jumped just in time to avoid the angry blazes of fire coming from the Uchiha. And so it went on for hours until the sun has started to set and each of them were panting with scratches and slight bruises all over their body. Kakashi looked at them with worried eyes (or…eye); for he felt they were blind to their pain and couldn't see that they have reached their limit a long time ago, especially Sakura. Her legs were trembling and could barely life her upper body while the boys were trying to show one another that they can endure much more. Has was about to call off training when Naruto did the honor and stood up from his ninja posture.

"Tsk. This is just stupid and useless" Naruto whispered, avoiding his teammate's surprised expressions. Placing his hands in his pockets, he walked out of the training grounds, a heavy aura accompanying him. Sasuke didn't have to think twice, as he also departed in the opposite direction for more training. Sakura was left alone with her teacher and as soon as her two boys were out of sight, she collapsed to the ground, panting from exhaustion. Frustrated from how she has already reached her limit, she punched the ground with all her might.

"DAMN IT! Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT!!" the pink-haired medic yelled as she kept punching the ground. When Kakashi saw bruises starting to show, he held her wrists tightly and looked at her with obvious disapproval "Sakura, a shinobi should control his emotions." Once he was sure she calmed down, he dropped her wrists and carried her on his back. There was a very high chance she was suffering from chakra exhaustion. Sighing worriedly, he proceeded to walked to the hospital instead of teleporting there. It seemed to him that Sakura needed a little bit of fresh air.

"Kakashi-sensei…" a soft voice said behind him and the copy ninja answered with a soft "Hm?" as he adjusted her weight on his back; she was slipping away and unable to hold on to his neck much longer. It was quiet the rest of the way and Kakashi thought that Sakura has fallen asleep until she shifted.

"Do you think we will ever get strong enough? I mean, no matter how much we train, we are still progressing very slowly. Naruto and Sasuke are doing great, but I am not like them. I feel like I am a hindrance to them…" Sakura let out a small, shaky breath and tried to stop the tears from falling. Kakashi didn't have to answer her, for she soon went limp in his arms, seconds after her question. The copy ninja looked at the road ahead of him and for the first time in over fifteen years, feared for his team.

* * *

The next day, Sakura woke up with a very familiar scent in the air. Groaning, Sakura shielded her eyes and tried to block out the hospital smell, but in vain. A knock on the door broke her out of her reverie as she stared at the two figures entering her room. All three of them tried to ignore the others' stare, sensing the heavy tension coming back.

That was how they stayed for the next hour, Sasuke leaning on the wall, Naruto staring at the window, and Sakura staring at her lap.

"I was told by Tsunade that I would be leaving for a mission." Sasuke broke the silence and finally stared at his teammates. They had confused expressions on their faces, but deep inside, they just knew it all along. Sasuke just ignored them and focused more on masking his emotions. Before he could explain his missions, he sensed someone else entering the room.

"Uchiha, you have to learn your manner when addressing me. It's Hokage-sama to you" Tsunade said, twitching from how the people of this generation were becoming ill-mannered in this aspect. She quickly applied a seal to block the sound coming out from this room. This mission was top-secret and it shall stay this way.

"Uchiha Sasuke shall be going on a long-term mission starting tomorrow morning. His mission…is to spy on Orochimaru and stay with him under the impression of wanting power. He will be known as his apprentice and will be labeled as a missing-nin" Tsunade ended her statement and finally set her eyes on the ignorant thirteen year olds. Sakura and Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, not willing to believe what the Hokage had just said. Naruto was the first to react.

"Tsunade Baa-chan! How can you put Sasuke on such a dangerous mission?! Orochimaru wants him for his body and sending him to that bastard is just what he'll want!" Naruto burst out, his eyes flashing red. Tsunade glared down at the knucklehead ninja in front of her.

"You idiot, don't you think I already know all that?! Sasuke is just the perfect person for this mission and also, Orochimaru won't be after his body for another three years. It would be perfect to train under him and kill him in the end. This will be a top secret S-rank mission and it will be KEPT a secret. Is that understood?" The Hokage held her deadly gaze on both Naruto and Sakura, daring them to object her orders. The two glanced at their quiet teammate who was staring back at them with a strange look, a look they have never seen before. Behind his almost-façade expression, they could see that he was silently…_begging_ them to let him go. Naruto gave a defeated look and gritted his teeth; he couldn't believe this was happening to them. Sakura's lips quivered and she tried to count to ten so as to keep her calm. Her close friend was leaving on a mission where there was such a little chance in him coming back.

"Yes, Hokage-sama" Sakura heard Naruto whisper, a look of utter defeat on his face. If Sasuke wanted to leave on this mission, they could not stop him.

"Well then, since we all agree on this, I must be going. Uchiha, you will be departing tomorrow at five in the morning." Before leaving, she patted Sasuke shoulder, "You better come back alive" Sasuke stared at his Hokage with determination and nodded his head. Tsunade unsealed the room and left the three to negotiate with one another…maybe even yell at one another.

"I have to do it" was what Sasuke said with an even glare, daring them to say otherwise. Sakura, who was still lying on the bed, closed her eyes tightly and willed the tears not to burst out. Sasuke…Sasuke was leaving for the most dangerous mission she could imagine.

_Soon, Sasuke-kun will come looking for me for power. There is nothing you can do about it young girl._ Orochimaru's voice just couldn't leave her head, but there was something he said that was wrong. Sasuke was not leaving them for power because he had them…right? He's just doing this for the mission.

"You bastard. After all that we have been through, you're just going to dispose of us like some kind of trash!?" Naruto wasn't able to finish his yelling since Sasuke flashed in front of him and gave him and hard, deserving punch. Sakura jumped from her bed and ran (stumbled) towards her fallen teammate, trying to heal his bruise with what little chakra she had. Before she could lose her temper, she was greeted with a surprising sight.

"You idiots" she heard Sasuke whisper in the background. Both Naruto and Sakura turned to look at him, seething in anger. "You really think I'm going just for power. Do you think I would just leave like that without achieving the promise we all made?" Sasuke was struggling with his words and his teammates can _feel_ him trying to calm himself down, he was questioning his decision. Sighing, the only thing he could say was, "Idiots. Complete idiots."

Sakura was struck awed. Sasuke wasn't leaving them, it was just a mission. Glancing at Naruto, she saw him relax considerably and sigh in defeat, again.

"I have to go because I am the best chance there is for the success of this mission. I will also get stronger through him, but I will_ never_ allow him to take my body. I will not die because I…I have precious people here, waiting for me" Sasuke walked towards his teammates and knelt down so that they were all on the same level. He grasped Naruto's blond hair (tightly) and wrapped his other arm around Sakura's shoulder. This was the closest thing Sasuke has come to showing affection and the other two were struck speechless. "Who is going to take care of you two idiots, huh? I will be leaving you for a long time and just this makes me frustrated enough, so don't make me change my mind. Knowing you guys, you will probably throw yourself into trouble the moment I leave this village and make me have to come back and save your sorry asses. Do you think I want to go on this mission and have to worry about you?" he ended his statement with a small blush, letting out a sigh of relief for finally being able to say what's on his mind. Nonetheless, he continued "I will be going to _him_ to get stronger and so will you two. When I come back, you better be at my level so I can have a good challenge." Smirking, he let go of them and stood up with his hands in his pocket, his back towards them. Naruto and Sakura were looking at each other with understanding expressions. This was Sasuke's way of telling them that he cared enough for them to come back alive. Before they could express their feelings, Sasuke has already disappeared, leaving the two in the harsh, cold ground. Sakura then felt her stomach coil tightly as she realized something.

Sasuke will be leaving in fourteen hours…

* * *

Naruto was walking around the very familiar play ground and reminiscing back to when they were so much younger. He didn't even want to bid his rival goodbye because he didn't have the strength to. He feared that if he saw Sasuke before leaving, his chest would ache much more than it already was. In truth, he didn't want to lose his best friend and he didn't want to see Sakura's broken face when he departs. It was better he kept his distance…right?

Sasuke was busy walking around the streets of Konoha, trying to remember every corner and shop there because he knew that he wouldn't be seeing it for a really long time. Several hours later, he went to pack his bag and get ready for his long journey.

* * *

It was nighttime and Sasuke just couldn't sleep. He just lay on the bed, thinking of what will become of him. Just then, he heard a knock on his door, putting him instantly on his guard. It was the middle of the night and before he grabbed a kunai, he caught the waves of chakra radiating from two very familiar people. His body relaxed from its tense posture and immediately became irritated. Grumbling some Uchiha nonsense about being the middle of the night and wanting some sleep, he walked towards the door fast so as to stop the annoying knocks that idiot was doing.

"What!?" Sasuke yelled and was greeted by his two equally grumpy-looking teammates. They obviously had bags under their eyes, telling him that they also weren't able to have the amount of sleep needed. Sighing, he opened the door a little further to allow his teammates to come in.

"I can't sleep" Sakura murmured and plunged herself on the couch, her arms and legs stretched out as she tried to curl in the couch as much as she could.

"Me too" Naruto groaned and sat himself on the single armchair. Sasuke was…relieved that they came to see him before he left, he felt...happy. Taking a seat on the couch beside Sakura, Sasuke let his muscles relax and lowered his guard down just a little. He was safe here with them and he wasn't alone. He wasn't alone in his last night in Konoha, which made him less sad for some reason. The room was once again filled with silence and Sasuke didn't know what to say, to be honest, he preferred them talking than fidgeting in their seats.

"This sucks, you going that is" Naruto said, glaring at a random wall in front of it. Sasuke blinked at him, confused and speechless. "I mean, who is going to pay for my ramen when I am broke?!" Naruto yelled, now having the courage to look at his long-term rival.

"Yeah! Who is going to bonk us in the head when we start beating each other?" Sakura exclaimed.

"And who will fight with me when I get pissed off?!"

"And who will buy me dango!!"

"And who will I call bastard now!?

"And I won't be able to kick your fangirls whenever they come near you?" At this, Sasuke and Naruto stared at Sakura like she had grown an extra head. Laughing sheepishly, she shrugged and sank back to the couch, sighing heavily.

"You better be extra careful Sasuke, you will never know when Orochimaru will suspect you, and so you have to keep your act stable" Sakura whispered as she stared at her friend and teammate. Sasuke smirked, amused with the whole situation.

"I can take care of myself. Both of you should also start taking care of yourself instead of using me to save you from everything." The three of them finally smiled together, because the three knew that they will all come back soon and be Team 7 again. That was how the night went on, Sakura and Naruto kept talking and Sasuke filling comment here and there. Several hours after their talk, they were all sleeping soundly; with Sakura leaning her head on Sasuke for warmth. Sasuke didn't know how he was able to wake up exactly an hour before he should depart, but he wasted no time in slowly standing up and getting ready.

When he finished his shower, he had thirty minutes left. However, he couldn't leave his living room, where his two teammates still lay there sleeping and unaware of the outside world. He knelt down in front of Sakura and just stared at her; her nose, her eyelashes, her cheeks, her lips. Unconsciously, he traced her left cheek with his right, index finger. He didn't know why he was doing this, but it felt right.

"Sasuke…" Sakura whispered in her sleep and the Uchiha quickly took his hand back. Once he reached the end of his living room, he looked back at the two most precious people in his life and smiled. The picture of them sleeping in his house will be forever ingrained in his mind.

* * *

"Are you ready, Sasuke-sama?" one of the sound four said, all of them bowing for Orochimaru's new container. Sasuke scoffed and walked down the road that will lead them outside the fire country with his hands in his pocket. His mission has started and he will be labeled as a missing-nin in a few hours. His heart clenched at the idea of not seeing Sakura anymore, he will miss her a lot. Maybe when he comes back, he could tell her how he feels.

_Maybe…_

Back in the Uchiha compound, two sleeping figures unconsciously let out tears from their eyes. Their hearts were calling out to their missing companion. The other lonely heart was calling back.

* * *

Phew, that is over. I hope you liked this chapter :D It gets more interesting later!! I really don't know whether I should make Team 7 _together_ or just SasuSaku, what do you think? I would like reviews to this chapter :)

Sadbird


	8. Coming Back

* * *

Really sorry for not updating sooner, but exams week was hectic and I couldn't write anything down. This chapter is all about Sakura and her progress while her teammates were gone. It may not be as good as the others, but the big chapter is coming soon :D

Same disclaimer

Random thought: I wanna sleeeeeeeeep X.X

* * *

They were fourteen years old when they came back.

Sakura sighed as she repeated the process of healing the bird's broken wings. She has been at it for more than an hour now and so far, she has healed over fifty-nine birds (everyday for the past week!)and this shall be the last one. Once she was done, Sakura gave out a tiny smile as the bird started flapping its wings freely. Mind you, her smile was not the same one she used to have back in her childhood, back when she was a naïve and spoiled girl. This smile she adorned now had lost its sparkle when one member of her team left for a life-threatening mission, a mission that could end anytime soon with his death.

As the sixtieth bird flew away from her grasp, she went back to thinking about her _other_ teammate, a certain knucklehead who has also left the village with one of the legendary Sannin to become a better and stronger ninja. One of the reasons was to be on par with the Akatsuki who came to Konoha in an attempt to take him away weeks after their Black-haired teammate left them. Naruto was determined to become a stronger ninja with Jiraya because he also _knew_ that when (not if) Sasuke comes back; he would have gained so much more skills. His decision left a poor and devastated Sakura alone in Konoha, training with the other Sannin _and_ Hokage of the village. Alas, Naruto left with a smile and left his Sakura-chan alone, knowing that when he comes back, he will find a young woman with three times more strength and three times the medical ninja she already was.

Snapping herself out of her thoughts, Sakura made her way to the Hokage's office in order to tell her Shishou that she was done with the twelfth phase of healing. The Godaime was surprised when she heard that she was done and couldn't help but have more respect for this Haruno Sakura.

"You are aware that now, you are able to mend a bird's broken bones and heal them within a minute right?" the Godaime's sharp honey eyes pierced into Sakura's emerald gaze. The said girl nodded but didn't hold any excitement in that fact.

"Tsunade-shishou, it takes so much more time to mend a human's bones because their structure is much more complicated and needs more attention than normal animals." Sakura explained. The Hokage smiled and corrected her statement.

"Sakura, six months ago, you were able to heal Kiba's broken leg in twenty minutes, is that correct?" Sakura nodded, confused as to what her mentor was implying. Tsunade got up from her desk, filled with incomplete paperwork and walked out of her office, silently telling her apprentice to follow her.

* * *

Once the two medical ninjas arrived at the hospital, Sakura directly smelt the stench of blood in the ER, but thought nothing of it since Shizune, one of the best Medical ninja right after Tsunade herself, was the one handling it today. Both women arrived to a room where a certain Hyuuga was patiently waiting on a bed with his teammates hovering over him. Once Lee noticed the arrival of the Hokage and his sweetheart, he perked up and regained his happiness.

"Neji! Have no fear for Tsunade-sama and Sakura-san have arrived! Their youthful techniques shall heal you quickly and we will be able to go the big mission!" Lee gave a thumbs up for his rival, who has completely ignored him and looked at the medical ninjas with a slight pained expression. Upon watching him, Sakura figured out that he is in deep physical pain, possibly a broken bone somewhere since his forehead was slightly sweaty from exertion and the beginning of a small fever. Automatically getting the chart, her theory was confirmed when she read that his left hand was broken from his training with his teammates.

"Sakura, I want you to heal him and I will be the judge of all this" Tsunade said bluntly, surprising everyone in the room. Determined to ease Neji's pain, Sakura stood on his left side and gave him a soft smile.

"Hyuuga-san, I will be mending your bone and numbing your pain, so you don't have to worry about it. I want to you to trust me though and let my chakra enter your system without any resistance. The more you resist, the longer it will take for me to heal you." Neji knew Sakura, the Sakura who saved Sasuke once in the Chuunin exams, the one who fought her rival for ten minutes straight, and the one who grew up the most out of all of them…the one who was left behind by her teammates. He knew her and trusted her so he wasted no time and nodded his head in submission. Smiling, Sakura raised her hands and focused her chakra on a specific point in her body, slowly watching her chakra seep into her colleague's arm. For a moment, Neji flinched but soon relaxed as she numbed the area she was healing. She watched in fascination as the bones started mending back under her hands and fixing themselves up with the help of her chakra.

'More' Sakura thought with sharp eyes, 'more!' she thought and before she knew it, she has healed his left arm perfectly and the bruises that were present due to the massive swelling were all gone. Smiling happily, she slowly prodded certain areas that must be still sore as she asked Neji if he was hurting.

"No, Sakura-san. It just feels a little stiff, but I'm guessing that's normal?" Neji said, pleased with her work. His face gained a bit of its color and his eyes were pain-free. Sakura was about to answer his question and trying to hide her excitement for later, but Tsunade beat her to it. She stepped in and pushed her chakra gently into the Hyuuga's, retreating it after a moment and smiling with what seemed to be pride.

"You are perfectly healed Neji. It might feel a bit sore and stiff for a couple of days, but after that, you can go back to normal training. Just be careful not to pull your muscles much." The Godaime said and left with Sakura right behind her. Before Sakura could leave, she heard Tenten yell out a 'thank you' before returning back to her teammate. When the teacher and the student were in the hallway, Tsunade turned around and stared at the happy girl.

"Sakura, are you aware that you were able to heal Hyuuga Neji in three minutes flat?" she said and had to contain her laughter when she saw her apprentice started coughing from surprise. Once Sakura regained her composure, her wide eyes went back to normal as she stared at her hands in unhidden amazement.

"I was able to do that?" she asked her question so innocent and satisfied that Tsunade's eyes softened. She ruffled her apprentice's hair and smiled.

"Haruno Sakura, you will now return back to hospital duties and work as my intern. The rest of your knowledge on medicine will be taught here, all you need is experience and reading the medical journals we have in the library. What's left to do is our training in taijutsu, at this, I WON'T go easy on you. You are dismissed and will start your hospital work tomorrow at seven in the morning." Tsunade was done with her speech and couldn't remember the last time she gave someone so much happiness. She has trained her apprentice well.

Sakura could hardly believe it; she has completed the hardest stage of her medical practice in only several months!

'Just wait you guys! I'm catching up to you!' Sakura thought as she looked out the window, silently wondering what her boys are doing now. She walked outside the hospital until she arrived to her house. Lights in the kitchen made her aware that her family was finally here after their trip to Sand Village. Once she opened the door, she was hugged by her five-year-old brother, Setsuni. Giggling at the mass of red hair in front of her, she placed a light kiss on his forehead.

"I miss you too Otoutou." She exclaimed. Setsuni's emerald eyes, very identical to her own, were filled with excitement and she knew that he has so many stories to tell her about their long trip.

"Nee-chan! I have so many things to tell you. Did you know that the Sand Village Kazekage is now Gaara-sama!? He was so cool and very kind to us. He gave us a place to stay and let me play with his sand and told me how to hold a Kunai! He also made me…" Sakura split her mind in two and focused on leading her brother to the kitchen and finding her parents while at the same time, trying to digest every single thing Setsuni is trying to drill in her mind. She knew from a long time ago that Gaara has become the Kazekage and was really happy for him. After the Chunnin exam, he grew some kind of respect for her and she did the same for him. Her teammates also grew some kind of bond with him and considered him a rival they will win against. She couldn't imagine their reaction when they knew Gaara became the Kazekage. Looking outside her kitchen window, she just prayed Naruto and Sasuke were all fine and well.

* * *

A lone figure in a small, dark room shifted as he wore his clothes for training. He figured to be early in order to him to be able to place a certain message in the check point. Tsunade and several ANBU members were the only ones who knew of this location and it was the way he and the Hokage could keep in contact. His red eyes checked for any presence before exiting Orochimaru's hideout and running towards the checkpoint with blinding speed. Uchiha Sasuke let out his trademark smirk when he reached and quickly inserted the message before disappearing in the blink of an eye.

'_Wait for me, Sakura…Naruto'_

* * *

The next morning, Sakura was summoned by the Hokage urgently right before her hospital shift. She could only think of one reason why her mentor would summon her so quickly; something has happened to her teammates. Without bothering to knock, Sakura burst into the door.

"Tsunade-shishou! What is it? What happened?" she yelled, panicking. Something was strange though, her mentor was…smiling? Forcing her body to relax, she _patiently_ waited for Tsunade to tell her what she wants.

"Sakura, you have received a short message from Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. Your knuckle head got the message first and send it to us along with his letter." The Godaime's smile widened when she placed the said letter on her desk, waiting for her apprentice to take it. And so she did.

Sakura snatched the letter away and got ready to open it, but her trembling hand just wouldn't open it. Gathering the courage, she ripped open the envelope and took out the letters.

_

* * *

_

Sakura, Naruto, I'm sorry I haven't been able to keep in contact with you. Knowing you two idiots, you must have improved in your training and became better. Just you wait, I will come back one day and we will become a team again. Make sure you don't act reckless while I'm gone

_Sasuke._

* * *

Smiling tearfully, her heart felt so relieved from all the tension she kept for the past eight months. She turned the page for the next letter.

_

* * *

_

Yo Sakura-chan!

_I told you Sasuke-bastard will be okay! I hope you are also doing well! I'll be seeing you soon and this will be a promise. Ero-sennin is just being annoying and staying at every hotel with hot chicks. It will take time but wait for us! We're coming!_

_Naruto_

* * *

Sakura started crying then. All these months, she just wanted her teammates to reassure her that they were coming back and were still alive. She was overjoyed with the news she got today. They will come soon!

* * *

And they did. They really did.

It may have taken them three whole months to come back, but they still did. At that time, Sakura was waiting for them at the gates of Konoha. A whole year they have been apart and Sakura just couldn't wait to see them again. A whole year she has been training non-stop and improving in her skills as a medical ninja, Sakura knew she was ready for them to come.

* * *

Phew, done. Thank you for everyone who read this chapter and I apologize for any mistakes. Please review :)


	9. The Day She Lost Them

Hey guys! This is a slightly dramatic chapter (in my opinion at least) and I worked really hard for it :) Again, thank you for all the reviews! :D

Same Disclaimer

Random comment: Weekeeeeeend!!

* * *

They were fifteen years old when Sakura's tragedy occurred.

Another year has passed since Team seven became…Team seven.

Sakura finished doing her chores in her empty house and got ready for her day with her mentor. Her parents and Setsuni would be arriving tomorrow and she just couldn't wait to see them again. One would have thought that she would get used to their absence through time, but whenever her parents left to one of their business trips, Sakura would find herself counting the days to see them. However, she hasn't been noticing their absence as much when her teammates came back from the eighteen-month long mission. Smiling, she remembered the day when they came back, bruised and wounded.

* * *

Flashback

_"Sasuke…Naruto…" Sakura whispered when she saw them limping their way towards her. Each had their signature smile on their faces as their eyes stared back at her with equal happiness. Sakura didn't wait for them to come, for she ran towards them with her tears glistening under the sunlight. _

_Before Naruto and Sasuke could say anything, they both found themselves on the ground with their pink-haired teammate lying on them, crying tears of happiness. Both of them were speechless and let her cry as much as she wanted._

"_You…IDIOTS!" Sakura yelled in the end and somehow managed to hit them both in the head, hard. Standing up, Sakura watched smugly as her boys held their heads with tears at the corner of their eyes._

"_S-Sakura-chan! What was that for!?" Naruto whined and gave a small pout while Sasuke glared daggers at her. Not intimidated in the least, she held both her boy's shirts and lifted them up. Since they were much taller than her now, she had to use her monstrous strength to raise them up until they were in the air and had to look down at her._

"_I told you to send me letters and all you did was send me ONE freaking letter with a couple of sentences on each! Are you kidding me!?" Sakura yelled as she started shaking them like crazy. After much yelling and scolding, the pink-haired girl managed to calm herself and fell on her knees along with both her boys. They were all panting heavily, one of them for exertion, the other two from the lack of oxygen that came from their teammate strangling them. _

_After that, everything was quiet and Sakura finally gave them a huge watery grin that sent their hearts soaring from relief. They missed her so much._

"_Welcome back" Sakura whispered and gave them a huge hug. It wasn't until they hugged her back did she began quietly sobbing, glad that her boys were finally home._

* * *

That day, Kakashi gave them the bell test again in order to see how much all three of them have improved and he had to admit, they beat him fair and square. He didn't even have the time to read his beloved book and had to keep his eye on them the whole time.

When Sasuke and Naruto knew that Sakura has been the only one who was still a Genin because she was waiting for them, they went berserk and demanded the Hokage to send them to the Sand Village, where the Chuunin exams would be held. Sakura had told them that she refused to join another team and take the exam until they came back and her boys were furious and promised her to pass. And pass they did. They were the team that shocked everyone around them since they were able to pass the exam easily and without much effort. Sakura was able to win the final battle with only one punch to the face, earning huge applaud from the audience and a smile from Gaara. Naruto made his way to the finals as well and won his match with a very unique display of ninjutsu. Lastly, Sasuke was able to win the match within only a minute, leaving everyone around him speechless. None of the three even broke a sweat during the finals. Three months had passed since that day and now, they were getting ready to take the Jounin exams, which will be held in four months in Mist Village.

* * *

Shaking herself out of her revere, Sakura ran towards her mentor's office in order to start her rough training. Once she entered the office, she stopped in her tracks when she saw the pained look Tsunade had. Ibiki was there as well and went he saw the student; he excused himself and directly left the room. It was quiet for a while until Sakura decided to break it.

"Tsunade-shishou…what is it?" Sakura said, almost afraid to ask. Tsunade did nothing but pick up the crumpled piece of paper she had and say, "Sakura, your parents and brother were killed two days ago" That was all what Tsunade could say and without even looking at her student, she continued.

"They were attacked on their way back from the Village Hidden in Mist. A group of Jounins blocked their way and…" Sakura's wide eyes stared at the space behind the Hokage as she continued to read the report she received from Morino Ibiki after investigating the matter of the Haruno Family's disappearance. The Pink-Haired girl's body was slowly welcoming the feeling of numbness spreading all over her body, mobilizing her on the spot. "…Haruno Izumi attempted to keep his wife and son out of harm's way, but was killed on the spot…" Her life was practically over. She's only fifteen and her parents were not rich in any way. She had it easy, she just realized it "Haruno Sekai was…assaulted, raped, and beaten from her attempt of protecting her son…"

_So that's what it must have felt like_, Sakura thought as she stared at Tsunade through dead, hollow eyes. Sparkling emerald slowly turned into dry jade as Sakura tried to listen to her teacher, her Hokage. "Haruno Setsuni was forced to witness his parent's death before sharing the same fate, though he died slowly due to the poison…" Setsuni, he didn't even finish his second year of the academy and had to see all this, had to die at such a young age, had to suffer all this pain as his soul slowly withered away.

'_It hurts, my chest…hurts'_

Sakura did not want to listen anymore. Before Tsunade was done with the report, Sakura's feet dragged her out of the office. She could care less how she looked like or where she was going, her life was over anyway. Death was suddenly a very welcoming feeling.

"Oi, watch where you're going girl" A distant voice growled. By the time her mind was able to comprehend what she did for that person to yell, he had already left and she was once again alone in her thoughts. She stood up from the ground, her numb body unconsciously gliding between the many other bodies to avoid bumping into any more people. She didn't know what else to do right now.

* * *

'_How long have I been walking?'_ Sakura was aware enough to know that a lot of time has passed. Her body was taking her deep into the forest and it was a very familiar path, Team seven's training ground. Once she was able to comprehend that her boys would be there, she needed no more confirmation as she sped over towards the training ground.

"Naruto, Sasuke…" Sakura whispered to no one in particular, hardly able to raise her voice any further. Her throat, she has come to realize, was dry and painful. Her feet were aching and her eyes _hurt._ She gained speed at the thought of meeting her boys. They were the only people in her life left; there was no one else to return to anymore. She needed to touch them and make sure they were real.

She _needed_ to _feel_ them.

"Naruto, Sasuke… NARUTO! SASUKE!!" She yelled through a hoarse and desperate voice. She never ran this fast her entire life, never.

"NARUTO! SASUKE!!" she yelled again as she neared the training ground.

'_Haruno Izumi attempted to keep his wife and son out of harm's way, but was killed on the spot'_ Tsunade's voice invaded her already messed up mind. Finally, the tears that were begging to be shed fell in streams on her porcelain face.

'_Haruno Sekai was…assaulted, raped, and beaten_' A sob wrenched its way out of her mouth. They didn't deserve any of this.

'_Haruno Setsuni was forced to witness his parent's death before sharing the same fate.'_ No, please no. Setsuni, her beautiful, lovely brother was gone now. Setsuni did not deserve this, her only brother who she adored and loved and promised to protect him no matter what. Life seemed to lose its colors with him gone; he was such a happy child.

"NARUTO! SASUKE!" Sakura screamed and finally, she was able to spot them training together. Through her blurred vision, she saw them stop in their track and stare at her in horror, she must have looked worse than she though she did.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto's voice was shocked. What just happened?! But Sakura could care less of telling them that right now. She just needed to see them, to know that they were real and not gone as well.

She just kept running towards the closest person she could touch, which turned out to be Naruto. What relieved her was when Naruto slowly opened his arms, welcoming her in. She wasted no time to think and just crushed her body to his. If her brain was working properly, she would have been amused from how he didn't lose his balance and fall from the huge force.

Once she was in his warm, _warm_ presence, she started shaking from her loss, from what she could never have back. She tightened her hold on him, not caring if it would give bruises the next day, for he was her only source of comfort now.

'_No…'_ Sakura thought with relief as she felt Sasuke's hand on her hair, soothing her his own way. _'She has friends; Ino, Hinata, Tenten, Lee, Neji. She had her boys who love her, even if the other would sometimes say otherwise.'_

Sobs and wails of agony spread throughout the training ground as Sakura set her soul and feelings free, pleading that the pain would just go away. Just for a moment so that she could _breath._ But the pain never went; it just slowly ebbed away, leaving nothing but emptiness in her chest.

As her wails finally quieted down, she felt so exhausted. Her legs could no longer support her body and her arms felt so numb from the vice-like grip she had on her friend. Her body sagged against Naruto, but he supported her himself, holding her upright with his strong arms.

'_Maybe…just maybe, they could save me'_ Sakura though as she slipped out of conscious. Before her brain succumbed into darkness, she heard Sasuke's soothing voice.

"Naruto, take Sakura home. I'm going to see Tsunade, I think she knows what happened to her" His voice kept drifting away, but Sakura was at ease. She could rest for now.

* * *

"Sakura-Nee-Chan! We're back!" Sakura heard Setsuni yell out as he ran towards her. She picked her brother up and gave him and tight hug, kissing him in the forehead even though he complained about the gesture.

"Setsuni! How was your trip!?" Sakura asked, happy that her family was finally back after their two-week business trip. As she heard her brother talk about the journey nonstop, she gave a smile at her parents who have just arrived as well.

As Setsuni hugged his sister like no tomorrow, Sakura couldn't help but think this is a dream. She was in such a happy place and felt that her heart was at ease…except…this wasn't real. Once she came to notice how weird this was, her parents started drifting away from her. All what the Kunoichi could do was watch as Setsuni, as well, was wrenched away from her arms.

"No! Where are you going? Why are you leaving me!?" Sakura yelled to them as they kept going further and further away. Her parents were giving her sad expression while her brother was crying out loud, lifting a hand towards his sister.

"Sakura dear, we do not belong in your world anymore, remember? You will have to go on with life without us." Sakura's father said with a sad smile as he held Setsuni and his wife closer to him. It felt like he was leaning on them for support.

"I don't have anyone over there! Who's going to take care of me!?" Sakura yelled as she fell on her knees, unable to find the strength to move on.

"Sakura-chan, you have Naruto and Sasuke remember? They love you so much and I am sure they will be there for you." Sakura's mother said, her blue eyes glistening with unshed tears. Sakura nodded slowly and watched as her family disappeared from her life forever.

"I love you, Sakura-nee-chan…" She heard her brother whisper to her and smiled his bright smile that she will miss dearly. She had to move on for them, it was time to wake up. Sakura gripped her hair in agony and tried to shake herself awake. This wasn't a dream, it was a nightmare.

"Wake up! WAKE UP!"

* * *

Sakura woke up gasping for air, still shaken over her dream. She sat up quickly and started looking around her, but it was so dark and she couldn't see anything. Before she could start panicking, two pairs of hands grabbed her and pushed her back down. She tried to get rid of the mass of bodies by wrestling her way out, but the two figures were too heavy and Sakura didn't have the energy to use her chakra.

"Sakura, stop moving!" she heard Sasuke growl out and soon, she lay down under her heavy teammates, calm and more in control. Once they felt her relax, Naruto and Sasuke slowly let go and stared at her for a while. Sakura held her left side of her chest, feeling her heart beating erratically. Her chest area also hurt so much, since the early incident was still suffocating her.

All of a sudden, she felt so warm and secured. Why? Because one of her boys was hugging her tired, broken figure so tightly that she didn't mind the slight pain.

"Sasuke?" Sakura questioned when she was able to identify who was hugging her. He was that warm person and he was…comforting her.

"We're here for you" Sasuke said, grabbing her head and pushing it towards his chest, feeling that he had to stabilize this broken girl in front of him. Naruto couldn't just stand by and watch and so, he took Sakura's hand and kissed it softly and repeatedly. He messaged her scalp to let her know that he was there as well.

Sakura started trembling as her body was finding it difficult to handle all this, but strangely, her chest wasn't throbbing like before. It eased down to a slight pain that she could ignore for now. When she felt Sasuke's hold tighten even more, she knew that she would be okay as she buried her face into his chest. She felt better already.

"Thank you guys, you're the best" she said with a broken smile and that was how they spent their night. Sakura explained to them what happened, leaving some details, for she couldn't even think of it. Sasuke and Naruto slowly tried to drive her attention away for tonight as they talked about what they will be doing in the future. The number of missions they would have every month, the amount of money they wanted to collect, and the Jounin exams that were a few months away. They made sure to make Sakura talk as much as they could so she would grow tired as the hours passed by.

* * *

Four hours later, Sakura was asleep in between her two boys, who were staring at her softly. Sighing, Sasuke turned off the lights and covered both his teammates before closing his eyes and going to sleep himself. He truly hoped that Sakura would not change too much after this because like it or not, she was the reason for him to live on day after day. If she loses her spirit, he was sure that there will be nothing left for him to depend on. For the first time since his parent's death, he prayed that his pink-haired teammate will not be consumed by darkness.

Naruto held Sakura's hand tightly; he knew that she would sleep better if she felt that they were with her. The Kyuubi holder loved her parents because they warmed up to him and were very kind people, inviting him over whenever they made Ramen or any kind of food he loved. Sasuke would come every once in a while, for he still felt uncomfortable to come to a house full of life and happiness. Setsuni loved them both, for he would jump on them whenever they came to visit and plead them to teach him a new technique. Naruto _knew_ that Setsuni held a soft spot in Sasuke's heart and _knew_ that both he and the bastard were affected greatly by this. He just hoped that this will pass soon.

* * *

One week later was the funeral of the Haruno's and Sakura just finished wearing her black clothes for the event. Once she left her house, she found her own teammates waiting for her and smiled. Everyone supported her and told her that they were here for her; everyone from the Konoha eleven was there for her and she didn't feel alone anymore. Sure her chest area still hurt at the mention of her family and felt like it would rip in two, but knowing that she had people who cared deeply for her made her have a reason to fight off her pain.

"Sakura…" she heard Kakashi whisper a few feet away. Before she could raise her head to meet his eyes (or…eye…) she was pulled into a hug by her teacher for the first time. She couldn't help but smile, for this was a very rare show of affection from Kakashi himself. He had been on a mission all that time and couldn't give his condolences until now. Quickly breaking the awkward hug, Kakashi ruffled his student's hair and gave her a smile.

"It's not over yet Sakura, you still have so much more things to do with us" He said as he patted her shoulder. Sakura nodded and walked with her team. Sasuke and Naruto held her hands tightly, silently letting her know that they were here and they were not going anywhere. Kakashi took his place behind his students and smiled down at them. This tragedy just strengthened their bond further and he was glad it did. Team seven was indestructible.

* * *

Phew, done. I hope you liked this chapter. In the next chapter, we will see something new going on between the members of Team seven :D I might take some time for me to do the next chapter because I am stuck with exams and projects.

Please review!

Sadbird


	10. Feelings?

Hey guys, I'm so sorry I haven't been updating recently. It's just exams are coming up and projects are due very soon. Typical excuse but it is no lie!!

Same Disclaimer.

Random comment: I am not pulling a Kakashi and my excuse is real XD

* * *

They were sixteen years old when feelings started acting up.

"Haruno Sakura, please step forward" The fifth Hokage announced from her place between the other two Kages (Raikage and Tsuchikage were not present). A pink-haired girl/woman stepped forward with a proud smile adoring her face. The same thing could be said about the Hokage, but Tsunade had to be completely professional in this event. Once Sakura bowed towards the Kages, whom all gave her approving stares, she accepted the vest given to her.

She took three steps back to her original place, in between two males who were towering over her. She could clearly feel the enthusiasm building up from her blonde-haired teammate to her left and the brooding, but secretly excited Uchiha to her right. Sakura was the last to receive her Jounin vest and everyone was waiting for their dismissal, eager to go celebrate this special day with their parents and friends. Out of the one hundred and twenty who applied for the Jounin Exam, only eleven were able to pass. Three of them were from the Sand, two from Mist, and the other six were from Konoha, which explained why there were only three Kages standing in front of their ninjas.

"Congratulations everyone for passing the Jounin exams, we are all equally proud of our ninjas and we have high expectations. Do _not_ disappoint us. Missions will be harder and more life-threatening from now on. You are all dismissed" The MizuKage said.

The exam was held in the Mist Village this year and Sakura was glad that they were able to pass, despite the big disadvantage they had of the weather and their unfamiliar surroundings. Naruto, Sasuke, and her were able to pass with no serious injury beside the nasty cut on her lower back. Shino, Tenten, Lee, and Shikamaru were all able to pass and she was so glad with the results. Now, Lee and Tenten will finally be able to have missions with Neji again.

All ninjas gathered around their own Kage, looking for words of appraisal and some more advice. The Hokage has been smiling this whole time and when all her ninjas formed a small circle around her; she patted everyone's shoulder (ruffling Naruto's hair as well) and grinned.

"Good job all of you. I expect us all to leave to Konoha first thing tomorrow morning. I have been absent long enough. I will also depend on you as my guards so no disappointments." Tsunade said.

"Hai!" Everyone said, determined to prove their new seat and level. Once everyone was scattered, Sakura felt Naruto running towards her after his talk with his new friend from Mist.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled and before Sakura had the chance to turn around; she was grabbed by her blonde-haired friend and forced into one of his famous "bear-hugs". He held her so tight; she couldn't even voice her thoughts and couldn't even flail her arms to give him a good punch in the head. Seriously? Her, a Jounin?

"Mph mmmgh mmphh!!" Sakura "said", since her head was buried deep in Naruto's chest. Unfortunately, Naruto was completely oblivious to all this until a certain Uchiha sent him a good punch in the head himself.

"Dobe, you're suffocating her." Sasuke stated simply and grabbed the heaving Sakura away from Naruto into his body. Naruto growled as he rubbed his sore head and glared at his best friend/rival.

"Teme! Why did you do that?!" Naruto yelled, getting aggravated by his friend's action.

"You're deaf and an idiot, as usual" Sasuke exclaimed bored, releasing Sakura after he made sure that she was able to stand on her own two feet. However, he still held her upper right arm for security measures.

"What the -! Are you talking to me!?" Naruto growled back. Tenten and Lee sighed from a distance as they stood beside Shikamaru who just muttered something in the line of 'troublesome'.

"Are you blind as well? Who am I looking at other than your idiotic self" Sasuke smirked, immensely enjoying this. Sakura, to her luck, was stuck in the middle of the argument and just sighed from frustration. This was going nowhere. Before she can stop the fight from going any further, she felt a sharp pain in her lower back when she attempted to twist.

"Why you! You don't have the right to take Sakura-chan away from me! I had her first!" Naruto pulled Sakura towards him and suddenly heard her gasp. Both of the boys cut their bickering and stared at their female teammate who was flinching slightly.

"Sakura-chan! I forgot about your wound! I'm so sorry!" Naruto exclaimed worriedly, ceasing his grip on her arm. Sakura tried to heal her wound, which has began to bleed again, but her chakra reserves were close to none and she couldn't even reach it to check the damage. Sasuke stopped her and shook his head.

"It's not very deep. I think it needs a bit of cleaning only." Sakura said tiredly, trying to assure her teammates that she was fine.

"I'll just clean it and bandage it for you then. Let's go to our room. I have some supplies there." Sasuke exclaimed and gently pushed her to walk. Once the three arrived to their room, Sakura sat down on the bed and waited for Sasuke to start bandaging her wounds. It's a good thing she taught her teammates basic medical techniques, because it sure turns out handy every now and then.

* * *

Naruto didn't say anything the whole time and sat down beside his two teammates after looking for the medical supplies and handing them over to Sasuke. Sakura, boldly, raised her shirt slightly for Sasuke and waited for him to clean it up. After several minutes of all this, Naruto soon got bored and went to the bathroom to clean up after a long, tough day.

After cleaning the wound, Sasuke started wrapping the bandage around her waist and Sakura's heart started beating louder every time his fingertips brushed her skin. Her ears felt so hot and she wouldn't know why. Taking a small glance at Sasuke and his perfect feature, Sakura wondered if her feelings for him bordered on more than friendship. She's known him every since they were children and never thought of him in that way before, but as they grew older and Sasuke grew more handsome, Sakura just couldn't help herself. Her hormones acting up recently wasn't helping her either. Fighting back the urge to blush, Sakura tried to ignore the burning feeling his fingers were giving to her icy skin and tried to ignore the scent radiating from her _teammate._ She just couldn't waste their friendship and let something like a small crush ruin everything. Sasuke was done bandaging her up, but Sakura was too busy to notice his fingers lingering a millisecond longer than what he wished for. It was a good thing they were in a private room.

* * *

A month later, Uchiha Sasuke was enjoying his sleep for the first time in weeks until he heard a constant and _loud_ knocking on his door. Groaning, he glanced at his clock and gritted his teeth when he saw that it was still seven in the freaking morning. He usually wakes up earlier, but just today, he wanted a break from all this. Their last mission was a tough one and they barely had any sleep the last time. One would never know when Tsunade would give them another hard-core mission. The knocking suddenly stopped and Sasuke just knew what would happen next. His eyes trailed towards the two figures jumping into his room from his open window and Sasuke 'tsk'ed at his teammate's actions. Opening the window caused a cold breeze to enter his previously warm room and that made him even grumpier. Naruto stood up and gave out his infamous grin and again Sasuke stressed out (in his mind) that it was _seven o'clock in the freaking morning! _

"What do you want…" came his gruff voice and glared once he saw Sakura walking around his room like she owned it. She picked up some T-shirt he threw on the floor and raised him an eyebrow. Shrugging at her silent question, he stood up, wearing only his shorts and went to the bathroom to take care of his hygiene. Before closing the door, he yelled out:

"Sakura, if you steal one of my shirts again, I will rip them off of you, whether you are wearing them or not." He smirked once he heard her curse some words out and Naruto snicker before they both left his room, probably to the kitchen. Really, one would think that would learn to stop crashing into his house without his consent. Nonetheless, he didn't kick them out anyway...

* * *

Once Sasuke entered the kitchen, he saw Naruto staring at the fridge for any sign of Ramen (which he knew he will never find) and Sakura busy doing some Omelet for the team. Just looking at his teammates roaming around his kitchen like they owned it made him feel…strange.

"Sasuke! Breakfast!" Sakura said with a smile as she placed the three plates on the table. Taking a bite out of the omelet, Naruto smirked.

"Sakura-chan, it needs more salt and didn't you put any pepper?" he scolded with a frown. Sakura growled and ignored his comment, trying to eat her meal _gently._

When they were done with their meal, Sakura started fidgeting around and ignoring her teammates nervously. Naruto gave Sasuke a confused expression and the sharingan user just shrugged. It wasn't until they washed the dishes that Sakura finally spoke.

"Guys. I have something to tell you but please do NOT overreact!" Sakura exclaimed. Her two boys stared at her both with raised eyebrows and she gulped, getting ready. "I'm going on a date with Neji tomorrow night!" she blurted out and tensed, awaiting her teammates yells and glares (in Sasuke's case).

.

.

.

"WHAT!?" Naruto AND Sasuke yelled, completely outraged. Two pairs of red eyes stared right at her.

_Oh boy…_Sakura thought, this was going to be a long day…

* * *

Team Seven were waiting at the bridge for their Jounin teacher, who was as usual very late. Sakura had no idea why they still waste time waiting for him instead of training. She grumbled half-heartedly, for she was in no mood to think of this, since her two teammates were acting like children and giving her the silent treatment.

"Come on guys. It's just a date, you better start getting used to it. I also don't want you scaring him off like you did with the others." Sakura murmured, crossing her arms to try to make a point. However, her two teammates still ignored her and left with nothing else to say, Sakura stomped her foot (without any chakra) and walked towards her house, getting fed up with them.

It was at that time Kakashi decided to pop in and give another one of his famous excuses (that are NOT like mine!!).

"Ah guys! I'm sorry I was late. Today, I really was lost on the road of life!" Imagine his surprise when he didn't hear the usual comebacks from his team. Opening his one eye, he saw the female member of their team missing and the other two grumbling some nonsense and staring/glaring at the ground.

"Ara? What's this? It seems our Sakura-chan is missing…" he felt the aura surrounding the boys darken even more and sweat dropped "Don't tell me…you guys had a fight?" he sighed once they became even more gloomy and sighed, this was going nowhere.

"Training dismissed for today, let's just think of it as time out" before hearing out their complaints, Kakashi "poof"ed away from the scene. It was a perfect time to read his precious new book!

* * *

Later than night...

Sakura stared at the mirror again to check out the make-up Ino put on her for her date with Neji. Smiling to herself, she turned towards her female-best friend and grinned.

"What do you think, Ino?" she asked, excited for what her date would think. She was wearing a white sun dress with perfectly matching white shoes. Her short hair was left as is, but without the forehead protector. Ino gave her a "thumbs up" and grinned along.

"You're perfect! Neji's going to drop dead!" Ino exclaimed, excited and happy for her best friend. Sakura smiled and checked herself for the last time in the mirror before going downstairs…where she found her two teammates sitting in her couch looking glum and pissed off. She huffed and tried ignoring them as she walked towards her small kitchen in order to prepare dinner for the two. Ino shrugged at her friend and left the house quietly.

"Stop looking like someone stole your favorite Kunai, I'm going on that date and nothing will stop me" Sakura said as she waited for the rice to be done. Her boys just didn't say anything and she took that as a hint that they finally gave up. Satisfied, she continued preparing dinner as she thought of her time with one of Konoha's hottest ninja.

"Sasuke-teme, we have to do something about this" Naruto whispered gloomily to his best friend. The discovery that _his_ Sakura-chan was having a date with someone else shocked him to no end. He wanted to punch that person who dared look at his precious person in that way, but another part of him felt, dare he say it, jealous? He knew Sasuke must have felt something as well when he received the news, but that bastard's poker face managed to save him somehow. He, on the other hand, couldn't keep all this inside. He has loved Sakura ever since she took him in as his friend. Ever since then, she has become the most precious person to him and then Sasuke came along and became one as well. He has loved her so much as a friend, so much to the extent that he couldn't realize that several years later, he has…fallen _in_ love with her. As he watched her walk around the kitchen with soft blue eyes, Naruto felt his heart ache at the idea of losing her to another man.

"Okay guys, dinner is ready and my date should be arriving any second now._ Play nice_." Sakura said, her voice growing threatening in the end. Just as she predicted, the door bell rang and Sakura tried to make some last minute changes before taking a deep breath and opening the door. Sakura had to calm her nerves down, but when one of Konoha's gorgeous men was standing right in front of you with a sexy smile, you can't help but swoon at the said person. Catching herself from what would have been a huge embarrassment, Sakura smiled back.

"Good evening Sakura-san, are you ready for our date?" The Hyuuga genius asked, avoiding the murderous glares he was receiving from the two who suddenly appeared behind the pink-haired Kunoichi. Sakura sighed and stared back at her teammates, not able to understand why they were so pissed off about this whole deal.

"I'm ready Neji-san. I'll just go get my purse" Sakura said and glared at the two behind her. "_**Behave"**_ was her warning before disappearing somewhere in her apartment. Sasuke and Naruto had a very sour look upon their face, trying to scare away the victim with their presence (like they did with the other… hundred, was it?). However, Neji was not affected by their intimidating stance and proceeded to ignore them while trying to hide his smirk at the same time.

Sakura didn't give the boys time to start a fight and waltzed right pass her boys to get to her date. She has already worn her coat, since it was already the beginning of winter and has directly held on to Neji's left arm.

"I'm going guys! Finish your dinner and don't forget to lock my door before going home!" Sakura yelled before turning a corner out of their sight.

"Sakura-san, are you sure this will work?" Neji asked, a bit hesitant about all this. Sakura giggled and patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry Neji-san, Tenten-san will feel jealous the moment she lays eyes on us. I am sure that she will make her move then! Trust me on this" Sakura said, trying to encourage the Hyuuga genius that her plan of pairing him and Tenten together will work. Neji gave her a small smile, glad that she was there to help him.

"Well then, let's get on with this date. I want you to enjoy yourself as well because no one goes on a date with Hyuuga Neji without having the time of her life" Uncharacteristically, he gave Sakura a wink, causing the said pink-haired Kunoichi to blush and bury her face with her unoccupied hand.

"Geez Neji, you can surely sweep a woman off her feet" She said slyly and laughed when she saw her date's ears turn beat red. It might be a fake date, but just for a moment, she wanted to just get spoilt, just this once. Neji was the only person she knew who wouldn't be affected by her teammate's glares after all.

* * *

Once Sakura arrived at her house (not home), she absentmindedly took off her shoes and coat and sat down on the wooden ground. She sighed and wrapped her arms around her legs for warmth. Her plan worked after all; Tenten has finally admitted her feelings for Neji and they both went back home to talk more about all this. They both thanked Sakura for helping and left her after making sure she made her way back "home".

Her senses directly warned her of an intruder in her house and she was directly on her guard. Sakura took out the senbons she kept under her dress and proceeded to silently search for the enemy. Without giving her enemy a chance, she threw the senbons at them with perfect accuracy and finally allowed herself to relax briefly before opening the lights.

"Whoever you are, you have some nerves to…" Sakura stopped in the middle of her speech and let herself stare at her idiotic teammates who were currently stuck on the wall of her living room with her weapons pinning their clothes, leaving them immobile. Naruto looked like he was going to faint any second now while Sasuke just looked angry and about to yell at anyone. Really…and they call themselves Jounin?

"What the hell are you guys still doing in my house!? I could have killed you! And why didn't you dodge!? You could have easily moved away…" Sakura said grumpily and walked towards her boys to take out her senbons instead of them ripping their clothes. She was in no mood to stitch them again. Before she took the first senbons out, Naruto decided to answer her.

"We didn't know you would start throwing death traps at us! Also, we stayed to tell you that we weren't happy about the idea of dating other guys." Sakura glared at her best friend and was about to give him a piece of his mind until the Sharingan user decided to join in.

"Sakura, do not go out with Hyuuga again. He's not good enough for you" he said with hard eyes. The pink-haired Jounin stared back at those wonderful onyx eyes and couldn't figure out why she felt… happy. Happy that they cared, maybe? Slowly and gently, she took out the senbons from their clothes and couldn't help but smile at how quiet her boys were, staring at her and hoping they didn't offend her feelings or anything. When she took out all the senbons, she let them fall on the ground as she felt her legs weaken.

Once her body softly hit the ground, she let out long, tired sigh. Her teammates slid down to her eye level and glanced at each other in secret.

"It wasn't a real date; I only did it to help Neji make Tenten jealous." Sakura whispered, chuckling when she saw her boys relax from their tense posture. Before she can joke about all this, Naruto held her shoulders tightly.

"Sakura, we really don't want you dating other guys. We want you only to look at us!" Naruto said with fixed, determined eyes. He was so close she could feel his warmth surround her; Sakura could do nothing but stare.

"What do you…mean?" Sakura said, suddenly having a funny feeling in her stomach. She then felt another presence right beside her and when she turned to her left, she came across brilliant onyx eyes who were staring right back at her with some kind of intensity.

"What the Dobe meant that you are now allowed to leave us" Sasuke stated, as if that was the simplest thing on earth. The two males of team 7 stared at the only girl who ever _really _looked at them and Sakura couldn't help but start shedding tears. Naruto and Sasuke then went back to being tensed as they sweat dropped and tried to figure out a way to stop her from crying.

"Ah! Sakura-chan! We're sorry! Don't cry!" Naruto yelled helplessly, but Sakura continued crying on the ground quietly. Before the boys knew what hit them, they were both pulled into a tight hug from their female teammate. Sasuke tensed further, not liking all the emotion being played in this room. On the other hand, Naruto didn't waste any time and hugged his Sakura-chan back, rubbing her back gently.

"Idiots, I am not going to leave you. You're the only people I have left" Sakura said through her soft sobs and hiccups. Sasuke didn't understand why he felt his heart squeezing tightly and beating faster when he heard her, but he felt contented knowing that he won't be alone in all this.

Naruto felt his heart skip a beat at what his Sakura-chan just said and hugged her even tighter. "Stay with us…" Naruto whispered. Deep inside, he just wanted her to look at only him and Sasuke (and maybe to some extent, Kakashi).

"Idiots, I just told you. I'm not going anywhere"

* * *

Later at night, the members of team seven were all covered in blankets and sleeping peacefully in different couches. Three empty cups of hot chocolate (and tea in Sasuke's case) were scattered around the room and the fire was still flaring with life in order to warm the three figures dwelling in the apartment. Each of the three slept with a specific thought in their mind; their current relationship. What will the future be in store for them; when they get deeper into all this, when their life would constantly be endangered with all the hard missions ahead, and when they would have to choose.

* * *

Phew, Done. I just want to say thank you to all who have been reviewing my story on almost every chapter. I greatly appreciate it and humbly accept all of them. :)

Next chapter happens when they are seventeen years old, so new and bigger things will start acting up and who knows, maybe someone we thought was dead shall...come back?

Stay tuned and please review!

Sadbird


	11. Need Part 1

Hey Guys. Again I apologize for not updating sooner X_X and have no excuse this time. Thank you for whoever reviewed and read this story and I hope this chapter meets your expectations!

Same Disclaimer

Random Thought: SHANNAROOOOOOO!!!

* * *

They were 17 years old when they decided "to hell with it".

Sakura panted heavily and tried to steady her breathing so as she would not be heard by her sound enemy. She winced slightly once she shifted her weight off the ground, grabbing her wound on her stomach tightly so as to stop the heavy bleeding.

Team 7 was sent on an A-Rank mission ten days ago to check out the strange movements that have been recently happening in Sound Country. It seemed that the many activities that were seen going around Orochimaru's old labs were suspicious enough to send a team of four Jounins immediately. Upon arrival at the Sound Village, Sasuke led his team to one of Orochimaru's old hideout, hoping to find a lead to something. However, a whole week has passed and nothing strange was going on in the village, until the eighth night deep in the thick forest.

* * *

Several Hours Ago

Kakashi silenced his team the moment he felt something suspicious going on in the air and the other three Jounins instantly stopped their bickering with one another. Sasuke activated his sharingan and looked around the forest for any possible enemies, Naruto grabbed the advantage of having perfect hearing thanks to the Kyuubi and closed his eyes in hope that he would be able to hear the new intruders and figure out their position. Sakura stilled completely, silently spreading out her chakra to sense for any change in the air as her hand slowly made its way towards her weapon pouch.

The slightest sound, chakra presence, smell, and shadow of the intruders triggered the team's reaction as they all jumped into the trees; the ground they previously sat on was now covered with deadly kunais and shurikens.

* * *

.

.

And so began the chase.

.

.

* * *

Sakura had lost contact with her teammates hours ago since her radio couldn't reach more than ten kilometers in distance. Cursing her rotten luck, Sakura quickly healed her gash that was caused by one of her enemies, who managed to find her location. She knew that this action was the worst thing she could possibly do, for the enemy would be able to sense her chakra signal, but so will her teammates; it was a risk she had to take.

She jumped out of the way once she sensed her enemy attacking her with some shurikens and they finally stood face to face.

"Ooh, you have gotten so strong Sakura-chan" Kabuto said with a small smirk. Sakura narrowed her eyes and spread her chakra further in case any other enemy was nearby. Nothing so far.

"Maybe it's just you whose skills are getting dull, Kabuto. Death does that to people you know…" Sakura bit and inwardly smirked when his left his face. Kabuto was supposed to be dead years ago along with Orochimaru, when Sasuke ended his mission in sound. However, evidence showed that they both were still alive and kicking, surprising the leaf ninjas.

After a moment, Kabuto showed his famous smile and took his stance, along with Sakura. Both of them then had chakra in their hands, but for totally different purposes. Kabuto's looked sharp and pointy, like a scalpel, meant to paralyze his opponent while as Sakura's were steady and ready to smash the hell out of her target. In a flash, they both disappeared with a blur and started attacking each other, dodging perfectly when the time was right. Both of them couldn't risk being hit even once, for one hit was deadly for the both.

_Naruto…Sasuke…hurry up!_ Sakura thought. Her chakra reserve was almost gone and she couldn't risk letting her guard down for one second here. She's been fighting for hours with different sound ninjas and she was at her limit already. They weren't easy, most of them being Jounins of a high level and she might not be able to win this fight with Kabuto after all.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke have been searching for the rest of their team members for hours now. However, their search was always hindered whenever sound ninjas came to ambush them. Naruto was worried, there was still no sign of either Sakura or Kakashi and it's almost dawn. As he drove his last Kunai into one of his enemies, he silently hoped that Sakura was holding on out there. Just before he could move on with his thoughts, he heard a loud piercing scream a few kilometers away and stopped from horror. It was Sakura's voice. Rage surged through his body and the more he thought of what could have happened to her, the angrier he got. One glance at Sasuke told him that he was feeling the same way, for his sharingan was blood red and his attacks turned from elegant and swift to fierce and vicious. In less than a minute they were done with their kill and without another glance at the sound bodies, disappeared into the night.

* * *

Sakura was _stuck_ and bound by four huge men, each holding one of her limbs with both their hands and securing her small self on the ground. Their grip on her _hurt_ and she was so desperate to get out of their steel grip, attempting to use her chakra enhanced strength to fling them away. However, one of the four men turned out to have the ability to eat away one's chakra and that's exactly what was happening to her right now. Her chakra reserve was leaving her so quickly and after a few minutes, she could only lay there with Kabuto looking down at her with his sick twisted smirk. He distracted her well alright, enough for her not to sense those four jump on her to render her immobile.

"Well Sakura-chan, it seems that your strength can't save you now. Why don't you just stay like that for a while, the boys seem like they want to have some fun on their own." Kabuto said, adjusting his broken glasses, courtesy of the Kunoichi who now lay on the ground. Sakura tensed and glanced at one of the sound ninjas, who were looking at her like she was some kind of…

_NO!_

Gathering her nonexistent strength, Sakura started thrashing out like crazy, once again attempting to free herself from those disgusting beings. Like hell will she be used as some kind of sex toy. However, no matter how much she struggled, she just couldn't wrench herself free and for the first time in a while now, Sakura didn't know what to do anymore. She started hyperventilating once one of the sound ninjas started feeling her way up her stomach.

"S-stop it!!" she yelled, desperately trying to wrench her way out. Tears were gathering around her eyes as she wasn't expecting that, NO! She would not be caught by her teammates like that; all weak and teary. She must get out of here NOW! Before she could start calming down and thinking up of strategies that would surely rescue her, she suddenly felt the presence of a very thick and heavy aura radiated from somewhere behind her. The chakra they gushing out were so cold-blooded and angry that Sakura had to greedily suck in air into her lungs, but it was still _so hard_ to breath.

"Oooh, look who finally decided to drop by" Kabuto exclaimed, smirking as he looked at the two infuriated boys. The first one had red chakra gushing out of his body, while the other's chakra was purple. If Kabuto were another man, he would have died just from watching their wild stare. The other sound ninjas, however, freed the weakened Kunoichi in order to run away from the powerful chakra source, screaming in fear. Unfortunately, the two seventeen-year olds didn't give them a chance to step any single foot further as in less than a minute; all four of the powerful, screaming sound Jounins were now all quiet and dead. When Sakura gathered the strength to pick up her chakra-less body, she turned around in order to see if her boys were okay.

"Naruto! Sasu---" Sakura didn't even dare say another word as she stared in horror at the bodies that _were_ holding her down and touching her a minute ago. She covered her mouth and nose, trying to stop the bile that was threatening to come out. There was _so much_ blood covering the ground and most of them were on her boys, who were staring at practically nothing with murder intent in their eyes. Just then, hands reached out from behind her and swiftly pulled her towards him. Before Sakura could start thrashing about again, a kunai rested itself dangerously close to her neck, threatening to slice it out any second.

"I don't recommend you two to move, unless you want our Sakura-chan to die here as well" Kabuto's voice resounded in the area, right behind Sakura and the two boys tensed up even further as their chakra kept increasing further from anger and rage. Sakura gasped and glared at the medic nin behind her, who still kept his usual smirk on, as if the two "monsters" in front of him didn't faze him one bit.

"**Let her go!**" Naruto hollered at Kabuto, how dare that scum stand and let _his_ Sakura-chan be touched by those filthy dogs! With a loud cry of rage, Naruto and Sasuke disappeared from their position and ran towards their opponent. Knowing what she was supposed to do, Sakura pushed a small portion of her little chakra out of her pores and the next thing she knew, she was pushed away from her enemy and finally free. She tiredly smirked at her opponent, who was now clutching his right arm in pain and trying to fight off the two raging boys, but their strengths far surpassed him. A strong blow to his stomach suddenly made him slam towards a tree and at that time, Kabuto knew that he was currently no match for them. Smirking at the three as his body started regenerating itself, he summoned more groups of sound ninjas who were ready to fight.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to stay here. It is best if Orochimaru-sama handled kids like you later" Kabuto stated and disappeared with a puff of smoke, leaving Team 7 to handle the sound ninjas by themselves. Before Sakura could even start thinking of how she was supposed to fight them off, her boys started to do the job of killing their opponents. Watching them could have made any normal person hurl and back away from the sight, but Sakura has seen many of these in her line of career as a Medic. However, seeing that _her_ boys were the reason behind the mangled deaths of so many sound ninjas made her feel sick and broken hearted.

She was pulled out of her reverie when she heard one of the sound ninja's high, piercing scream. That one was dead before he even hit the ground.

"Stop it…" Sakura whispered dully, unable to let out the proper emotions she was building up inside. Her voice was barely registered by her teammates as they finally killed the last remaining ninja and stood their ground, staring at nothing as their bloody body still trembled with anger, letting the pink-haired Jounin know that their anger hasn't been sufficed yet. Not letting them get the chance of leaping away, Sakura gathered all her remaining strength and dashed towards them.

"SASUKE! NARUTO! STOP IT YOU TWO!!" Sakura yelled with all her might and jumped on them, crashing on to their body and forcing them to land on their stomach with Sakura on top, securing them with an arm on each neck. The boys did not even give an effort to release her hold on them, but Sakura didn't loosen the grip she had on her precious boys, even as their intent to kill slowly started ebbing away. She kept pressing her body on both their backs, crying silently as she rubbed both her cheeks against her boys; an act of affection they both enjoyed.

After what seemed like hours, Sakura felt them finally come back to their senses.

"Sakura-chan…you can let go of us now" Naruto's soft voice reached her ears and he slowly turned around, urging his female teammate to loosen her steel grip. Slowly, her hold on them began to slacken and Sasuke turned around and sat up while holding Sakura's waist so as not to surprise her. Naruto sat up as well and both of the boys looked at their crying teammate with tired, but thoughtful expressions.

After seeing what could have happened to her, Sasuke just couldn't think of anything else then, not of his clan or Itachi or the possibility of dying because of his reckless act just now. The only thing he could think of back then was how to kill those low lives that dared touch one of his precious person (other than Naruto). What really set him off were the tears Sakura started to shed when of one those disgusting being started _touching _her further south. Now as he stared at her crying silently in the middle, grabbing both his and Naruto's shirts, Sasuke couldn't help it at all; nor could Naruto, who was thinking of the same thing.

Before Sakura could make sense of what was happening, she felt lips softly graze her forehead. Gasping slightly when both lips slowly and tenderly kissed their way down to her eye brows, teary closed eyes, cheeks, and finally the corner of her lips, Sakura could do nothing but cry and sob even harder, knowing that they were finally back to normal.

"To hell with it…" Naruto murmured as he licked the tears that were streaking down her face. He didn't care anymore, he loved her. He has loved so much for all these years and he gave up trying to stop himself. To hell with anyone who would disapprove of this. He didn't even mind letting Sasuke have the other half of his pink-haired angel. They were both hers the moment she protected them with all her heart; the moment she became his first friend, the moment she cried for Sasuke on the night of the Clan's massacre. They were hers for a long time now and they both have just realized that.

Sasuke silently agreed with Naruto's statement as he grazed Sakura's neck lightly and felt her silky, short hair through his slender fingers. He couldn't stand staying on the side anymore. It became too much and he let his teenage hormones have what they wanted and it was their pink-haired savior.

The rain that splattered on them was ignored by the two boys as they kept trying to console their Sakura with everything they got. The blood they had on them slowly started dispersing and blending in with the cold water. The boys didn't care about anyone now and focused on the task at hand. Plus, it felt good to feel her body pressed up against them, warm and feminine, and they both didn't want to lose hold of their sanity as they desperately held on to it and tried to make it last for as long as they possibly could. She was their sanity, their hope and their source of warmth and they weren't about to let it go.

Sakura's tired mind was trying to keep up with the crazy events that were flashing right before her. The only thing she could feel were the lips of her teammates and she slowly started feeling better once she felt that they were trying to hush her sobs in their own way. 'To hell with it' was what Naruto said, but she put that in the back of her head to think about it later. Now, she couldn't care less if what they were doing was completely appropriate and uncharacteristically, intimate and tried to grasp their intense feelings as much as she could. The only thing she could do was gasp every time Naruto licked her tearful face (or was it from the rain, she couldn't know) and every time Sasuke kissed her forehead or cheek in order to calm her down.

_-asuke…zzt…Na – zzzt – to…Sakura! Can you hear me! Is everything okay!?_ Kakashi's voice resounded through the radio. Sasuke stopped his menstruation and pushed the earphone closer in order to be able to listen better.

"Yo Kakashi, everything has been taken care of in our part, what took you so long" the raven haired boy answered, looking at his teammates who were still sitting close to one another and looking back at him, trying to listen as well to their teacher. They heard a sigh of relief coming from him and smiled at how worried he was.

_I'm coming right now, where are you? Are Naruto and Sakura with you? Is anyone injured?_ Kakashi asked and Naruto took the task of filling him in on what happened, ignoring the part where they lost themselves for a moment and proceeded to tell him of their current location. After that, the trio sat on the wet ground and tried to warm themselves up by being close to one another.

It was then that Sakura felt the sticky, red liquid that was still on her boys' faces. She took Naruto's face at first and proceeded to rub away his blood stained hair and face. She hated him looking like this and when she was sure that the blood was nowhere to be seen on his face, she went to Sasuke and did the same thing. The boys were quiet and kept staring at her with contemplation. When she was done, she rested her hand on her laps, panting slightly from the effort.

* * *

It was how Kakashi found them several minutes later, tired and leaning on each for support. It was a sight he thought he would never see in his life. It looked like they were one soul for a moment there and it irked Kakashi slightly, seeing them so lost and dependant on each other. However, he saw how they were trying to support one another and he relaxed after knowing they were alright. Taking a small glance at the bodies scattered around, he walked towards his team and after checking their condition, he performed two Bunshins and carried all of them on his back. If they were surprised, they didn't let him know, but Kakashi didn't even want to think of what just happened in the forest. Glancing back at his team, he saw how the two boys kept glancing at their fallen teammate who was now unconscious and tried to ignore the look they had in their eyes. Something definitely has changed.

* * *

"Good mor…ning…" the owner stuttered as she stared at the group of people in front of her in awe, all looking beaten and tattered. Kakashi shifted Sakura slightly in his arms and placed some money on the counter.

"Two rooms please" Kakashi said tiredly; the only thing on his mind right now is to take care of those three and then get a good night's sleep. The owner stared some more, but then quickly took the money and gave him two keys.

"Here they are Sir. Do you need me to send in a doctor?" She asked as her worried eyes travelled to the three shinobis (who she knew barely reached the age of eighteen). Kakashi gave a small smile and shook his head.

"That would not be necessary. However, I would be deeply grateful if you could bring in some extra towels and medical aid kit." The Owner nodded and rushed to get the supplies he asked for. Kakashi was grateful that she didn't question who they were and why they were in this state, for he didn't have the time to explain it to outsiders right now. When the copy ninja, along with his two bunshins, arrived at the two rooms, he went inside, pleased to find everything ready and clean. The bed was also big enough to fit the three, though they may be cramped a bit. Once he placed them all in the bed, he rushed to the bathroom to gather some towels and started off by drying their hair and blood.

A knock on the door brought his attention as he opened it and thanked the owner who gave him the supplies he needed along with extra things she thought was useful. After placing everything on the table, he stared at his students and sighed, this was going to be a long day.

* * *

Sakura woke up with someone stroking her face and judging from the chakra signature, it must be Kakashi. Smiling slightly as she slowly opened her emerald eyes, Sakura fixed her gaze on her teacher who was cleaning her face with a wet towel. Looking down at herself, she noticed that she's all clean and dry now.

"Kakashi-sensei, did you change my clothes?" Sakura asked and looked at her boys on either side of her, the boys who were _also_ clean and dry. "You changed _all_ our clothes?" she continued, looking at her teacher, expecting a good answer from him. Kakashi sweat dropped and pulled up his hand in defense.

"Now now Sakura. I had to do that you know. All three of you were dirty and if I didn't dry you up…"

"Kakashi-sensei", came Sakura's tired voice. Kakashi stopped his rambling and looking at his student, who was smiling at his with half-opened eyes.

"Thank you" She said and started closing her eyes. She was so tired. Kakashi smiled at her softly and whispered, "Sleep, you need your strength". When he knew they were all fine, he allowed himself to rest and went to the other room, which was connected to theirs. He summoned three of his dogs and ordered them to stand on guard, he had to be careful.

* * *

Later that night, Sakura woke up again feeling much better than she did last time, though she was still a bit worn-out.

"Sakura-chan, you finally woke up" Naruto whispered to her right and she turned to see her blonde-haired teammate staring back at her with soft, blue eyes. She smiled at him and turned to her left to check if Sasuke was awake as well, for he usually woke up with the slightest shift or noise. Just as she expected, Sasuke was laying on her left and looking at her and Naruto with a thoughtful expression.

"Are you both okay?" Sakura asked, trying to block the memories of what could have happened to them if she didn't stop them in time. The boys didn't answer her but instead, shifted closer to her and buried their faces in her neck.

"G-guys, aren't we a bit…to…close?" Sakura stuttered, feeling heart rising to her cheeks. The first time they were like that, she thought it was a one-time thing and she never thought they would do it again. At that time, it was right because their lives were in danger. However, now was completely different. Just then, Sasuke gripped her waist and pulled her a bit closer towards him.

"Naruto's right, to hell with it" he murmured and went back to his place beside her neck. Sakura took a sharp intake of breath and stayed motionless as her teammates (should she call them that!?) turned affectionate once again with her. This is not supposed to happen between friends and she tried to stop them, but it felt so good to be this close to them and she couldn't gather the strength to tell them to stop. Her blush came back as Naruto sat up slightly and stared back at her with a serious expression.

"Sakura-chan…I don't think we can hide this any longer" He glanced at Sasuke, who nodded for him to continue, "we need you". Surprised by his blunt statement, Sakura could only stare confused at the both of them.

"I know, I need you too. You guys are the only family I have…" Sakura was cut off by Naruto holding her shoulders tightly and by the look of anger from Sasuke.

"Sakura, you don't get it!" Naruto said, frustrated from everything. Sakura didn't know what to think of this. It's not like she didn't know what they were getting to (seeing as she is a genius and all), but she didn't want to admit that they were referring to that. Suddenly, Sasuke appeared right in front of her and for the first time since the massacre, his eyes were giving away everything he was feeling.

"Cut the crap Sakura, we both know that you are feeling this too", as if to stress his point, Sasuke placed his hand to his chest and directly felt her heart speeding up at his proximity and touch. She started breathing heavily as both her teammates gazed at her, expecting her to answer them back, but she just couldn't. All this was just going too fast and before she knew it, she scrambled away from the bed and leaned her back on a door, which she assumed, connected this room to her teachers. The boys looked at her then with sadness and rejection, but Sakura put it in the back of her head. She would deal with this later. Right now, her mind was all boggled up and she was _tired_ and couldn't think straight.

"I…I will see you tomorrow. Make sure you rest a-a-and drink a lot of fluids to o-overcome the dehydration." Sakura stammered and went inside her teacher's room, anything to get away from their stares.

* * *

Kakashi didn't know what hit him; one moment he was lying on his bed reading his precious and lovely book (and trying not to eavesdrop on his students' conversation), the next he was looking at his female student with worried eyes. She looked so lost and confused and her eyes were wide and had a hint of fear in them. He saw her looking at him bashfully and with an apologetic face, but he shrugged and shifted closer to the edge of the double bed. Her eyes lit up with hope and she gave him his favorite smile before lying down beside him and getting herself comfortable. This has happened many times ever since they became a close team, so it was nothing new to both of them. At first, Kakashi freaked out that day because of the close proximity of his female student; the day when her teammates discovered the beginning of her menstrual cycle. She was only thirteen at that time and was so scared and helpless that she went looking for him for help. That was the first time she went and became attached to him, so her coming out of the blue to his room almost became normal to the ex ANBU.

"Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura whispered softly and the teacher shifted slightly, indicating that he heard her.

"…goodnight" she said finally, as if she changed her mind. Kakashi didn't want to press on this subject, so he let it go after saying, "Sakura, you will just have to choose". He didn't hear anything else from her and so he reopened his book and continued to where he left off.

* * *

"Sasuke, do you think she will accept us back again?" Naruto said sadly, his cerulean eyes staring at nothing in particular. On the other side of the bed, Sasuke stared at the ceiling and tried to control his posture. He felt so lost the moment Sakura left the room, as if his support and warmth disappeared with her.

"I don't know" he finally whispered and tried to ignore the soft, yet audible sobs his best friend let out. The avenger was gripping the sheets so tightly so as to not break down as well.

* * *

Phew, done. Okay guys, this is the end of the FIRST part. The second part (hopefully) will be launched next Sunday. I hope you enjoyed this chapter because it took so much time from me. I hope you review and forgot to tell you MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Oh and Happy New Year as well :D

Sadbird


	12. Need and Hurt Part 2

Hello everyone. As promised, here is the next part (part 2 of 3) of the story. Yes, they are still seventeen and as one of my reviewers said, it would be weird if the problem was solved a year later. I hope you enjoy this one. I didn't have much time to write more than that since I promised to submit this part today. Next one will be better :D

Same Disclaimer

Random Thought: D-Gray Man rocks!!

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* * *

_

A Week Later…

The mission was accomplished, since Team 7 were able to discover that Orochimaru was apparently _still_ alive, but in a very bad condition.

"Orochimaru is waiting for a container in order to switch to its body. However, it appeared that whenever he gave the cursed seal to a specimen, they die in several days. It appears that he is not able to stabilize it enough to keep his containers alive. Because of that, we believe that he will be after Sasuke very soon since he is the only one left alive with the seal." Kakashi ended his report to the Hokage with a grim expression and took a step back in between Sakura and Naruto, waiting for orders or dismissal.

The Godaime had a sour expression on her face as she stared at Team 7 in deep contemplation. Knowing that Orochimaru is still alive is nerve wrecking as she glanced at the Uchiha, who was gazing at the ground as if angry with himself.

"Sasuke, step up" The Godaime commanded and the Uchiha took a step forward, looking at his Hokage with fierce eyes. "It seems that your mission of eliminating Orochimaru four years ago did not succeed. Do you have any explanation as to why it happened?"

"After killing him, I destroyed all his experiments and burned them all down in order for him not to find a way back. It seemed that he was able to fake his death for a couple of days and in the end, switch to a container I believe he was hiding underground. It was his last resort and surprisingly, he was still able to stay in the body for an extra year." Sasuke ended his statement and fixed his gaze with the Hokage, who nodded in the end and sat back on her chair.

"It seems that you are right Uchiha Sasuke. I want Team 7 to be on full alert from now on and all the Jounins and ANBU to be weary of anything unusual and suspicious going on in Konoha. I cannot afford losing anyone else to that snake. Is that clear?" the four all nodded their heads and started leaving the office once Tsunade dismissed them.

"Uchiha…" she said before they all left. Sasuke stopped in his track and turned around, "Orochimaru still being alive does not in any way mean that you failed your mission". That seemed to catch the members of Team 7 off guard and Sasuke waited for her to continue.

"You gave us all the information we needed and acted as a perfect spy and double agent. You destroyed all his experiments and his death was only supposed to be an extra bonus. You did better than I can imagine, don't punish yourself for it" she ended her statement and dismissed the four with a wave of her hand.

Sasuke nodded his head, feeling the regret going away after being assured by his Hokage. And so, the members of Team 7 were walking in the streets of Konoha, each with their own thoughts. Sakura then cut the silence and turned towards her three teammates.

"If that is all, I will be leaving Kakashi-sensei…" she drifted off and glanced at her two boys, who were both looking at her sadly, as if begging her to talk to them again. However, she ignored their stares and disappeared with a whirl of cherry blossoms.

_

* * *

_

Two Weeks Later…

It felt like he was going to fucking burst! Naruto could not take the silent treatment Sakura has been giving them for the past two weeks. The only time she talked was during missions, when she absolutely _had_ to say something. Rubbing his furrowed forehead, Naruto sighed and lay on the grass, staring at the clouds passing by…so Shikamaru-like. Sasuke told him to let her be and give her some time to think about all this, but what the hell!? This shouldn't be a problem! They were together for such a long time and they were so close to one another, so why was she hesitating?

However, he couldn't help but secretly sigh from relief when she chose to reject them both. He's been thinking about all this for two weeks now (not that he had a choice, the situation practically screamed his attention) and somehow (_somehow_) understood why she would run away like that. She just couldn't choose between them…because she already knew who she wanted from the very beginning. The thought of that made him clutch his chest, where his heart was. It hurt…

"Ano…Naruto-kun?" A very shy voice reached his troubled mind. He opened his eyes in a flash and jumped in surprise, searching for the source of the sound. A few feet away from him, there was Hyuuga Hinata holding her hands in front of her, startled from the sudden action. Naruto then put his guard down and relaxed, running a hand through his blonde locks sheepishly. He grinned at the shy girl as he slowly saw her calm down.

"Hinata! Long time no see! How's it been?" Naruto asked. Hinata had grown to be a remarkable and strong woman, courtesy of her training with Sakura and Neji (his blood boiled at the idea of his Sakura-chan and the Hyuuga together). Smiling, Hinata sat down a few inches away from him, but looked away, trying to control the huge blush on her face.

"Um…e-everything is f-fine nowadays…Kurenai-sensei has b-b-been teaching me some n-new techniques and N-Neji-nii-san has been t-training with me regularly." She said, avoiding eye contact with the person she has admired and loved for a decade now.

"I-I was just walking by a-and happened to s-s-see you looking w-worried and a b-b-bit sad. Is e-everything o-okay?" she asked, finally gathering some courage to glance at Naruto, who suddenly felt miserable all over again. Hinata freaked out for a minute, knowing that she had something to do with his sudden mood swing.

"G-Gomen-nasai!! I d-d-d-didn't mean t-t-t-to upset you Naruto-kun!" Hinata stuttered, growing light headed and upset from ruining her time with him. Naruto went out of his trance and looked back at the unusually red Hinata with a shocked face.

"No no! It's not you. It's just…my team. We've been really tense around each other that it is frustrating me to no end. I don't know what to do anymore." That was how Naruto started explaining his feelings towards his Sakura-chan and how Sasuke felt towards her as well. He also told her the reason as to why they were so awkward around one another. For some reason, it was easy to talk with her, since she was so into what he was saying. By the end of his story, he exhaled loudly, glad that he was _finally_ able to let his feelings out and tell them to someone. Usually, he would let out everything at his best friends, who were currently ignoring him and looking away during missions. Having Hinata here hearing him out made him feel better. He looked at the Hyuuga heir with a smile.

"Thank you so much for listening Hinata-chan. Sorry for the trouble" he finally said and was happy to see her smile back at him.

"It's okay Naruto-kun. It s-s-seems like you and y-your teammates n-need to sort it o-out soon. Also, maybe y-you need to think back and s-s-see what you h-have done wrong. It would h-help you out in a way" She finally said, blushing at how close Naruto has come to her. Her heart felt like it was being squeezed once she knew how much Naruto loved Sakura. However, she doubted he loved her the way Uchiha Sasuke did (she kept telling herself that), since it felt like his feelings bordered on family love. Shaking her head, she stood up from the grass, dusting her pants.

"You guys will surely make up soon. Sakura-chan just needs time, I guess…to sort out her feelings and all." She left Naruto reluctantly, hoping to the gods she would not lose him. Her hands trembled with the thought of not being together with him, but she still couldn't muster the strength to tell him her feelings.

* * *

It was midnight when Sasuke came back to his cold, dark house and he was dead tired from the constant training he's been forcing himself to do (good distraction). Sakura had been avoiding him ever since the day he and Naruto showed their true feelings toward her. He didn't know what to do these past couple of weeks and seeing no one "break in" to his room and wake him up in the morning made him feel very unsettled. He's always had nightmares of the day of the Uchiha massacre, but it never bothered him because both Naruto and Sakura would be there in the morning breaking an entry into his house and waking him up because of all the commotion. However, having no one to do so in the mornings just made the nightmares worse and the bags under his eyes didn't help ease up anything.

He never thought that he was so dependent on them and the fact that he was so frightened him a little. He never wanted to admit it, but it seemed that they were his sanity and were the ones keeping him from leaving the village and blindly seeking out revenge. Naruto supported him and helped him stand up on his two feet and Sakura…Sakura helped him breathe.

He's not sure he would be able to last without them and he didn't care if his attachment to them could destroy him entirely.

* * *

Sakura sighed again during her shift and tried to smile brightly at her patient.

"You're all done. It was a clean break, so don't worry about it. Within a week, you will be completely healed" She said to the civilian man, who thanked her repeatedly and went on his way to check out. She rubbed her large forehead and sighed, her tiredness getting the better of her. She has been working double shifts every day for the past two weeks, praying it can distract her from everything going on. However, no matter how many shifts she took, her boys just constantly kept invading her mind and it has been frustrating her to no end. Grabbing her third coffee of the night, Sakura sat in her personal office and stared outside her window, contemplating on what to do. Her choice has been clear ever since she arrived to Konoha, but she wouldn't … couldn't let one of her boys feel rejected because of her. She loved them both so dearly but in an entirely different way. Naruto has been her sun, the first person to get her out of her dark, cold place. She loved him as much as she loved her…brother, Setsuni. Thinking about him almost brought tears to her tired eyes and she shook her head to bury those thoughts deeper into her mind. This can wait, for their second death anniversary was in a couple of days; she would dwell of _that_ later.

She also loved Sasuke, but in an entirely different way. She was _in love_ with him and wanted to be with him forever, but she couldn't break Naruto's heart! All her life, she worked to take both of them away from the darkness and into her world, but this will just be terrible. She would rather they stayed friends than hurt Naruto…her brother in that way. Yes, she would rather do that.

_

* * *

_

Two Days Later…

It was that day, the day her family was brutally murdered behind her back; the day her life has taken a complete turn. As she kneeled in front of their graves, she placed the flowers she purchased from Ino and prayed for them. Her darkened emerald eyes swept over their names and she had a small smile as she remembered her days then.

_

* * *

_

Flashback

"_Nee-chan!! Come on! Wake up!" her five-year brother said, attempting to wake his older sister up. After a few minutes of that, he stomped his foot and sighed, going under the covers and scooting himself closer to Sakura for warmth._

_Sakura opened one eyes and smiled at Setsuni, hugging him tightly and kissing his forehead._

"_Got you!" she exclaimed and laughed hysterically as her brother jumped and pouted at his older sister._

"_Nee-chan! That is so unfair!" nonetheless, he smiled and buried his face closer to her for more warmth. After a few minutes, Sakura opened her eyes again and looked down at Setsuni, who appeared to be sleeping, but she knew better._

"_Setsuni-chan, why did you wake me up?" she asked and saw him grinning mischievously._

"_Sasuke-nii-chan and Naruto-nii-chan are downstairs waiting for you" both siblings stared at one another for another minute or so, but then Sakura disappeared from the covered and ran to the bathroom._

"_Setsuni! Why didn't you tell me that before!" she yelled, furiously brushing her teeth and wearing her clothes as fast as she could. Her evil brother has just left her room, running and laughing at the same time and she shook her head at his actions, smiling slightly._

_When she was done with her morning routine, she ran downstairs and burst into the living room._

"_Hey guys! I'm so sorry I made you wait…" she stopped and stared at her boys and brother eating some fruits made by her mother and dango…her dango. Naruto grinned at her with a whole dango stuck in his mouth._

"_Good morning Sakura-chan!" Naruto's muffled voice reached her ears as he went to take another dango…until Sasuke snatched it away._

"_Dobe, you ate most of them. Leave the last one to Setsuni" he said, handing the last dango to the child, who smiled brightly and sat in between the two._

"_Thank you Sasuke-nii-chan!" Sakura didn't know if it was her imagination, but she could swear that she saw a ghost of a smile on the Uchiha's face. She sat on the couch opposite to her teammates and sighed, eating some pear Naruto and Sasuke avoided to consume. Just then, her mother came into the room with a huge smile on her face and with a new plate of dangos. Naruto's eyes lit up and Setsuni grinned when he saw her._

"_Here are some more boys. I prefer you all to eat as much as you could. Being shinobi is certainly not an easy task!" She placed the plate on the table and each member took one stick and started eating them happily. Haruno Sekai sat down beside her daughter and kissed her forehead._

"_It's about time you woke up. They have been waiting for a while" Sekai said, giggling as her daughter blushed at her action._

"_Sekai-san, these are really good! Lucky Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, consuming his third and final dango for the day. Sekai giggled and took the now empty plate inside the kitchen. _

"_Sakura, we need to leave soon. Our mission starts in fifteen minutes and we should be at the clearing with Kakashi-sensei by then" Sasuke said and the girl nodded her head and stood up, grabbing her bag that has already everything she needed for the mission. Setsuni's mood dropped slightly and he walked towards his sister._

"_Do you have to go now nee-chan?" he asked, holding her shirt tightly. Sakura smiled and kneeled down to his height, brushing his hair aside._

"_I'll be back in a week at most. I promise." Like Sakura, Setsuni grew up with a sharp mind and was able to understand how dangerous her job could be. As a result, he hugged his sister and nodded his head._

"_Now now Setsuni-chan, Sakura will be fine. Besides, she has Naruto and Sasuke with her" Sekai mentioned as she placed a container of food inside her daughter's bag._

"_Yeah! We will protect her so don't worry at all!" Naruto yelled, winking at the youngest member. When they all reached the door, Sekai hugged her daughter tightly, pleading for her to be careful. She patted the boys' heads and asked them to take care of themselves, earning a grin and thumbs up from Naruto and a hesitant nod from Sasuke. _

"_Those two absolutely adore you, Sakura-chan" Sekai whispered to her daughter and Sakura just smiled in return._

"_They are my best friends after all" she kissed her brother one more time (he was already getting teary-eyed) and waved good bye to both of them._

"_Oh? You're already leaving for a mission?" A voice called out and she looked in front of her to see her dad, his emerald eyes (identical to her own) shining with worry. Sakura smiled at her loving father as he swept her into his arms and pleaded for her to be careful as well._

"_Don't worry dad, I'll be back in no time!" She said and waved her family goodbye before she joined her teammates._

_End Flashback_

* * *

Sakura was covering her eyes as tears kept streaming from her face. She missed them so much and a picture of them as she left for the mission will always be engraved in her mind. Her mother's worried stare, her father's pride in her and Setsuni's glassy eyes were something she will never forget. Her sobs never quieted down and she really tried to stop. Kami, she did, but her heart kept grieving for the loss of her family.

"_Sakura, you know what you will have to do" _her father's voice invaded her cloudy mind and that's when her sobs stopped. Her father always knew that she would make the right choices in her life and this was one of them.

"_Those two absolutely adore you, Sakura-chan" _her mother's voice came a minute later. She clenched her fist and stood up, her eyes now determined and set on her choice. She turned around and walked away from the graveyard, smiling and looking at the sky _"Thank you"_

She has finally made her choice.

* * *

Okay, that's it for this part :D I hope you liked it. I apologize for any grammatical or spelling mistake, I AM only human. Thank you for all who reviewed my stories! Next part won't be until after two weeks.

Sadbird


	13. Need, Hurt, and Love Part 3

Er, Hello? *hides behind an Umbrella* please don't hurt me :P I know that I haven't updated in a...REALLY long time and I apologize for that. University had my hands full and I've had an accident...of sorts... Anyways, I'm back :P and here's a new chapter!!

This isn't the last part (again) because I didn't have the time to continue it. Tomorrow, I will be in the hospital having surgery on my Knee...long story...let's leave it at that. Please forgive my late update!

At long last, here's chapter 13!!

Same Disclaimer

Random Though: Hospital...doctors...not good.............

* * *

Sasuke and Naruto both looked down at the three graves with thoughtful expressions, staring as well at the flowers Sakura had placed a few minutes ago. Sasuke closed his eyes and silently prayed for the Haruno family.

"Do you think she made her choice?" Naruto asked. Both boys had been standing on the branch of a tree for an hour, staring down at their pink-haired teammate crying her eyes out. They both itched to stop suppressing their chakra and make their presence known, but they both saw the look of determination on her face later on and they knew something has changed. Sasuke sighed and dug his hands back into his pockets, shrugging nonchalantly.

Naruto gave his prayer to the Haruno family and then left along with his best friend and rival.

* * *

A few kilometers away stood two figures, each with their own smirks on.

_They will attack tonight. _

The only evidence someone was there a few seconds ago was the whirl of the wind and the hiss of a snake.

* * *

After Sakura changed her clothes and trained for a few hours, she arrived at her favorite place to eat. She smiled once she saw the dango store full of people who were happily gobbling down her favorite sweets. She took a seat and waited for someone to take her order, for she was famished.

Once the owner of the store saw the pink-haired medic nin, he gave his usual smile and walked towards her eagerly, she was after all his favorite customer.

"Good evening Sakura! It's been a while since you came here. Are you going to order the usual?" Yoshi, the owner, asked. Sakura smiled and nodded her head in enthusiasm.

"Yes please. I've been training a lot recently and you can say that I am starving!" Yoshi smiled and went to start with her order as Sakura sighed and looked around at all the families sitting together.

She decided a long time ago to stop pondering on "what could have been" whenever she saw families together, for it did her no good to reminisce back to the good old days. Looking to her left, she saw a young girl smiling at her and once they had eye contact, the little brown-haired girl grinned wider and waved her hand. Sakura absentmindedly smiled back and waved a bit for the girl before her order came up. For a moment, she thought the owner confused her order with someone else's for he had added some more dango to her dish. She looked at Yoshi with a confused expression and the old man winked at his favorite customer.

"Young girls like you need lots of sugar…doing what you do" Yoshi said and disappeared into the crowd, not wanting to hear her protests. Shrugging, she started consuming her late dinner and tried to chew her dango slowly instead of finishing them all in one bite. Once done with her first stick, she went to get another until she felt two figures standing behind. She didn't have to look back to know that they were Sasuke and Naruto, for she had their chakra essence imprinted in her head and so she waited for them to make their first move.

Seconds later, she saw the both of them take a seat on either side of her and take one stick of her extra dango. She glanced at both seventeen-year-olds and wondered why they were here, but remembering what today was, she gave them a small smile and started consuming her dinner, with _them._

They stayed like that for several minutes, no one daring to talk since this had been their first encounter together for a couple of weeks now. However, Naruto just couldn't stay silent and was about to voice his concerns and troubles when they all heard a huge explosion resounding all around Konoha. The next thing Sakura knew, she was avoiding getting crushed by the building and before she and the rest of her boys could leave the store, they started carrying all the civilians to safety and finally managed to clear and save their lives.

"Is anyone else missing?!" Naruto yelled in between the crowd, looking frantically for his teammates and relaxing once he saw them all by his side in the next second. Sasuke stared out at Konoha and narrowed his eyes once he saw all the damage that has been done until now.

"It seems we are under attack, we should go to the Hokage right now" he said and disappeared along with his teammates.

* * *

Tsunade's serious expression made everyone in the room highly tense, but she wasted no time in that.

"Chuunin and Genins should evacuate all the citizens of Konoha to safety and be on alert, it's the sound village we're dealing with and Orochimaru is involved. Jounins should go to the battlefield right away and fight with the others. Scatter!" She glared at Team 7, silently ordering them to stay as everyone started leaving.

Sasuke clenched his fist once he knew that Orochimaru was involved in all this and his teammates glanced at one another worriedly.

"You three, please be careful. You are their target after all" she said with a sigh and looked outside her office, where her beloved Konoha is slowly getting destroyed by sound, but she would have none of that. Turning back to Team 7, she stood up.

"You are to fight for your village with your life. Now go get them and this time, kill _him _for real." She yelled and the three disappeared before she could even blink. There was no point in telling them to hide or run away because she doubted they would do so. Orochimaru was looking for them anyway and he probably won't show up until he found what he's looking for.

"Where do you think he's hiding?" Naruto asked as they glided through the rubles and dead bodies (thankfully most of them were the bodies of the sound ninjas). Sasuke smirked at them and Sakura smiled, she already knew what he would say.

"To the Uchiha compound" he whispered and all of them blended with the darkness of the alley.

* * *

Once they arrived into the empty compound, Sasuke signaled his teammates to spread out and they both nodded, disappearing into the shadows swiftly without so much as a hiss. Naruto and Sakura both knew every corner and turn, since they used this scenery during their training in order to enhance their chakra control.

Sakura was just about ready to go back to her team when he sensed a dangerous chakra nearing her at an alarming rate. Before the Kunai could nick her, she managed to counter it with her own and with her insane strength, punch her attacker in the gut. The sound of ribs breaking implanted a smirk on the cherry blossom's face as she saw her attacker pass through several buildings and finally crash in front of the wall separating the Uchiha Compound to the rest of Konoha.

Within seconds, she stood to face her attacker a few feet away and was able to meet her boys once they heard the commotion.

"Sakura-chan! Are you okay?" she heard Naruto yell out as he ran towards her. She nodded and turned her attention back to the silver-haired ninja currently slumped on the ground and chuckling, as if he wasn't thrown through numerous houses and got the living daylights punched out of him.

"Kabuto, where is he?!" Sasuke said, his murderous aura appeared suddenly as he glared down at the medic-nin.

"I'm surprised Sakura-chan was able to sense my presence so quickly. I admit that I have underestimated her for a minute there." Kabuto said.

Sasuke stared at the sound ninja, getting the feeling that something was wrong. However, it didn't take him long to know why as he let out a soft gasp.

Instantly, he grabbed the back collar of both his teammates and pulled them forcefully with him backwards.

"Teme! What the hell!?" Naruto yelled out, but stopped when he heard Kabuto start laughing again and standing up casually, cracking his neck and rubbing his shoulders. Right then, just before their eyes, Kabuto's started changing, until Orochimaru himself stood before them.

"Hello Sasuke-kun, I'm glad you still remember your master. It pleases me greatly" The Snake-Sannin smirked and licked his lips.

Sasuke glared back and was about to retort to shove his comment up his ass when Sakura and Naruto growled and stood in front of him, blocking the snake bastard from his view.

"The day this will happen will be when Hell freezes over!" Naruto roared and Sakura followed then.

"So take your comment and SHOVE IT UP YOUR ASS!" She yelled, surprising the hell out of the Uchiha. However, it seemed that this was all it took to turn Orochimaru's smirk to an enraged snarl.

"Watch your tongues brats, I will have what I came for" and with incredible speed, launched snakes towards Team 7, who jumped out of the way just in time and spread out.

"Scary Sakura-chan" a figure whispered in her ear and this time, she didn't have the chance to block his attacks. This time, it was her who crashed into a building and hardly had any time for recovery before she started blocking the real Kabuto's attacks.

* * *

On and on it went, with Sakura trying to land a hit on Kabuto and the other way around. The most important thing a medic-nin should do was learn how to dodge and they were both perfect at it. However, one single mistake and the other would be dead.

_Come on. Please God, give me an opening, please please please!_ Sakura begged as she blocked what would have been a painful kick and twisted backwards in order to keep a small distance.

The moment she landed on her feet, she unexpectedly appeared right in front of him to deliver a punch. Unfortunately, Kabuto was able to duck his head in the last second. At that same second, she finally got what she wished for, an opening.

_YES!_

Without wasting her precious chance, Sakura dipped her head down and delivered a chakra-filled kick towards Kabuto's stomach, kicking him ruthlessly into the air. Taking this advantage, she jumped higher up and got the pleasure of seeing his fearful face before she punched it, breaking some bones in the process.

_SHANNAROOO!_ Inner Sakura yelled as she gave the final kick towards Kabuto's spine once he landed on the cold ground, rendering him finally dead. Kabuto was dead.

Sakura's leg wobbled under her weight and it soon gave up on her. It was then she realized how tired and wounded she was and how heavily she was panting from the battle she just fought. Slowly, she crawled towards the dead body and checked for any pulse to assure his death. Thankfully, he had no pulse and she hurriedly got away from him, crying from relief and exhaustion. She had used a huge amount of her chakra to fight him off and it was a miracle that she was able to see that last opening he gave, or else she would have been dead instead.

Gathering her courage and what's left of her strength, she stood up and limped her way towards her teammates. She didn't know if they were able to defeat Orochimaru yet, she hoped they did because she didn't know what she would do if she found their dead body somewhere.

_NO! Don't think like that! They can defeat him!_ She thought and pushed herself to run towards the battle scene. What made her heart stop was that she could only feel one chakra signature. If one of her boys was alive, what about the other one? Or is it…?

Once she took the turn, she was surprised from all the chaos that happened in the area. Her battle with Kabuto was so distracting that she couldn't even risk losing focus and look at their battle.

* * *

"Sakura…" she heard a hoarse voice whisper somewhere between the rubbles. That voice was so familiar it hurt.

"Sasuke? SASUKE!" she yelled once she saw his body being pinned by huge, pointy boulders. Her hands trembled as she tossed the boulders away with her strength and hurriedly pulled her teammate out of the rubbles.

"Sasuke, can you hear me? Sasuke!" Sakura yelled, but he wasn't responding, just looking at her with intense eyes that stole her breath away. Without waiting further, she pumped the rest of her chakra into him to see what was _wrong_. Her breath hitched when she saw how much damage his chest has gone through. Four broken ribs, one of them has punctured his lung. However, she sighed in relief once she felt that his heart has been untouched and proceeded to heal him.

"Sasuke! You can't die on me now! I…I CHOSE YOU! I CHOOSE YOU! Sasuke!" She screamed at his face as tears streamed down hers.

Yes, she would have chosen him from the beginning, but she was afraid to do so, for the sake of the team…for the sake of Naruto…

Her healing chakra started slowly ebbing away, but she kept on pushing her chakra to come out. It was then she felt a familiar figure sit beside her, smiling. The Jinchuuriki placed his hand over Sakura's and once that happened, the fading, green orb grew in size and tripled in power, allowing Sakura to be able to heal the Uchiha Survivor easily. She stared at her best friend with tears in her eyes, silently apologizing for her decision, but Naruto just shook his head and proceeded to stand up and dust his pants, his body already healed from the Kyuubi's powers.

"Naruto?" Sakura questioned, not pausing in healing the broken Uchiha. Naruto smiled down at her and just by looking at his eyes, she could see how much he was hurt, how broken he was as well.

"I'll go see if everyone else is okay. It seems that we won this battle" He said softly and disappeared with a puff of smoke. The only thing that could be heard in the empty compound was Sakura's sobs and the soft humming of her chakra.

* * *

They were finally able to kill the Snake sannin and his followers, but on what cost? Sakura did not know.

* * *

A few minutes later, she felt a hand on her and a silent demand for her to stop. It wasn't until a moment later did she realize that it was Sasuke who has been telling her to stop for the last couple of minutes, but her brain was so drained and tired to process anything altogether.

"Sakura…you're killing yourself…stop" Sasuke's voice cut her off her depressing thoughts and the only time she looked down at him was when he caressed her cheek gently. She stopped leaking out her healing chakra as she stared at his beautiful form.

Sasuke was alive, he made it. He was safe.

That thought alone made her ecstatic and couldn't help but pull him towards her tightly and kiss every part of his face, except his lips. She was just too emotional at this moment and she knew that she had made the right choice, no matter how much it will change the team dynamic. As long as she was with Sasuke and he was with her, everything would be fine.

Sasuke couldn't remember feeling so warm, safe, and happy at the same time. Every kiss Sakura gave him made his heart skip a beat and for a second, he didn't know what to do to calm his precious cherry blossom. His eyes softened when he saw her shivering form over his, crying and kissing him like her life depended on it. He hated to see her that way. However, one sentence that came from her made him regain most of his sanity, most of his need for life.

"Sasuke-kun…I love you so much" Sakura whispered after taking in a shaky breath and brushing away his hair from his beautiful face.

Yes, she didn't have any regrets.

With all the strength his beaten body had, Sasuke was able to tower over her and force her to sit on his lap. Before Sakura could act on her own, Sasuke had her in his arms, being the one who was now holding her tightly against his chest.

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked, unsure of the reason of his current action. He didn't let her continue, but he pulled her closer to his body, so glad for so many things.

First of all, Orochimaru was dead (really dead this time) and they were, miraculously, alive. Second, they had won the war and they could finally become a little less tense with one another. Lastly, he was just so glad that she agreed to be with him,_ him _out of all people. The only female he ever cared about (after the massacre of his clan) loved him.

It made him feel…special…and alive again. It was as if he was finally breathing and he needed that so badly.

* * *

The flames between the sound and Konoha had finally diminished and Konoha stood tall, along with its Hokage and ninjas.

The war was officially over. Tsunade just couldn't be any happier.

* * *

_A few days later_

Konoha has received a huge damage to its houses and most of its training fields, nothing impossible to recover from.

Naruto has been walking around the village, helping out any civilian who wasn't strong enough to lift a boulder or wood and such. He reached team 7's bridge and sighed, staring at his reflection in contemplation. After a few minutes of staring at a pathetic face, he walked a few more feet and sat on a grass field, mulling over everything that had happened.

Sakura chose Sasuke and even though he told himself that he wouldn't be too affected by her decision, his heart couldn't help but stop beating once he saw his two most precious people being intimate with one another. He felt so alone and for the very first time, an outsider in their circle, a third wheel of sorts.

Something wet hit his hand and once he came back to his senses, he felt the tears flowing freely from his cerulean eyes. When he accepted the fact that he was crying, he stopped trying to wash away his tears as he pulled his knee closer to his chest, biting his lips and trying not to cry out.

He clenched his chest, desperate to know if his heart was still alive after all the turmoil. He let out one shaky breath after the other and later, he couldn't hold back the sobs that wracked his body.

He couldn't even stop when he felt a very familiar figure sit right in front of him and another behind him, pushing him to the front. He bit back another sob when the figure behind him separated his hands from his shirt and forcefully wrapped them in the other figure's neck with her insane strength.

"Idiot, crying out so loud for everyone to hear"

The brooding Uchiha then did his part by lifting himself up and carrying the Kyuubi Container on his back while the pink-haired jounin walked right beside them, looking at her sunshine, Naruto, with worry and guilt and rubbing his back to soothe him.

Naruto couldn't even get the strength to lift up his head and he let his team carry him away from the eyes of the public and into somewhere more private.

* * *

Once they reached the Uchiha Compound, Sasuke entered the guest room and slowly placed Naruto on the queen-sized bed. The Jinchuuriki then sat in the middle of the bed and attempted to hide his tears by covering his eyes with his golden locks. Sasuke stared at his soaked shirt with disapproval (courtesy of Naruto's endless tears) and sent a meaningful glance at Sakura, telling her that he will leave for a while. Understanding his message, the cherry blossom nodded her head and once the Uchiha left the room, she gathered her strength and courage and crawled into the bed, into Naruto's arms.

The Kyuubi container tensed once his teammate hugged his waist tightly and made herself comfortable in his arms. They both were quiet for a while and Sakura did not dare say anything, letting Naruto talk first.

"Why…not…enough?" she couldn't get all the words Naruto was saying, since he mumbled them through her hair. She lifted her head (trying to ignore those broken, wet blue eyes) and gave him a questioning look. Naruto cleared his throat slowly and stared at the bed sheets.

"Wasn't I enough? Am I just not good enough?" He whispered, tears spilling again and Sakura quickly wiped them away gently with her hands.

"Naruto, stop crying please! This is not you! You…" Naruto wasn't hearing her at all and it was because she didn't answer his question. Angrily, she grabbed his cheek and made him look at her straight in the face. She made sure his attention was all on her when she spoke.

"Don't you EVER let me hear you say this again! You are the best of who you are and you are MORE THAN enough for me. It is I who doesn't deserve someone as _good _and_ loving_ as you…"

Naruto eyes slowly stared into her, as if asking why then, didn't she choose him

"My heart belonged to him a long time ago Naruto, ever since I comforted him in my arms. The moment I saw him so weak in front of me, I promised myself to love him with all my heart."

She slowly wiped away a lone tear with her thumb and smiled.

"You and Sasuke are both the most precious people I have and I love you both _the same_. It's just that, the kind of love I have for both of you aren't….Do you understand that Naruto? I NEVER meant to leave you and I am never going to."

With that final statement, Naruto let out a shaky breath and nodded, as if finally understanding. However, Sakura didn't leave his face, but kept staring into his eyes, looking deep into his soul, wishing she could just erase all the pain dwelled up in there.

Long, warm arms wrapped themselves around the pink-haired woman and pulled her closer towards him. It was Sakura now who started crying as she hugged her best friend back with everything she could and sobbed in his arms. She was so glad that he now understood. It would take some time for him, but as long as he understood…everything would be fine.

* * *

Both Jounins now were sleeping on the large comfy bed; one was satisfied (enough) while the other was in peace now that both her boys were with her once again.

Uchiha Sasuke stepped into the room an hour later and smiled once he saw how both of them looked better once they talked with one another.

He quietly walked towards them, covering them up with a blanket and lay on the other side of the bed.

* * *

Tomorrow would be a bright, new day.

* * *

Phew, Done :D I really hope you liked it. I also hope I was able to surprise some of you!

Thank you so much for my readers, who helped me get back to writing once I saw their reviews again! I will try to update as soon as I can! I don't know what will happen so I can't make any changes. The last part, Part 4, will come up soon!

Sadbird


	14. Need, Hurt, Love, and Belief Part 4

I'm came back from my vacation a week ago and started writing this final part for 17 immediately. I hope you find this chapter good :)

Random thought: It's soooooo good to be back!

_

* * *

_

Next Morning

Naruto woke up groggily, taking his time to be familiar with his new surrounding.

_Bastard's place_ he though with a sour expression as he sat up from the bed. The sheets Sakura occupied before were still warm, informing him that she woke up a few minutes ago.

Sighing, he went to the bathroom for his morning hygiene. His extra toothbrush was already there, since he regularly has sleepovers with his team. However, all this doesn't matter now because the only person he ever loved (other than Sasuke as a brother) had chosen someone else (that same Sasuke). It came as a shock to him because, as weird/exciting as it sounded, he had expected her to choose both of them. He loved her so much to the point that he was willing to share the pink-haired ninja with the bastard.

He would have continued brooding if he hadn't smelt the wonderful aroma of Sakura's cooking. Snapping out of his dark thoughts, he plastered a fake smile on his face and ran downstairs to greet his best _friends_.

If they were happy, he guessed that he should be happy for them. They deserved it, right?

Somehow, that thought made his heart churn.

"Sakura-chan! Teme! What's for breakfast? I'm starved!" he yelled when he reached the kitchen. Sasuke scowled at how loud his rival was being, but didn't complain or threw any kind of insult, knowing that his best friend wasn't very stable at the moment.

Sakura smiled softly at Naruto and showed him what she cooked.

"The usual Naruto! Scrambled eggs with bacon and orange juice!" she set the plates on the table, making sure Naruto got the bigger share. After Team 7 were comfortable in their seats, they started eating their share of breakfast.

Instead of it being full of laughter and rambling (in Naruto's case), it was an awkward moment and Sakura didn't dare break the thick silence. Once they were all done with their food, Sasuke stood up and stared at his long time rival.

"Fight me…" he said with a smirk and Naruto did so as well, nodding and standing up from his seat. Sakura was so close to stopping the two, knowing where this will all lead to, but one glance from Sasuke made her stand her ground.

"We'll be back Sakura, don't worry" Sasuke stated and left with Naruto to the training ground. Sakura's heart began thumping erratically and she prayed to Kami that they wouldn't kill each other. The only thing keeping her from running towards them was her undying trust.

_

* * *

_

Training Grounds

Two figures stood a good distance against one another, studying each other carefully as if they were fighting for the first time.

"We'll be using only taijutsu" Sasuke declared and without waiting for the blonde's approval, took his stance. The Kyuubi container nodded his head and took his own posture.

"Without Sharingan" Naruto deadpanned and the Uchiha nodded his head, smirking from excitement. Naruto was deadly when he was serious and that could give him a good workout.

_Let's kick some Uchiha butt_ Naruto thought and sprinted towards his rival.

Each kick and punch from the two were equally dangerous and deadly, but was taken with courageous determination…to prove to one another that they were strong enough.

"You took her away from me" Naruto suddenly said, surprising the Uchiha and catching him off guard for a millisecond. Naruto took advantage of that rare opening and delivered a punch to his long-time best friend.

Sasuke stumbled away and wiped the blood from his lips, irritated that he was punched by a knucklehead of all people and enraged by his accusations.

"No I didn't…" he argued and charged again, attempting to return the favor. An eye for an eye, right? And he _was_ an avenger.

The blonde caught the Uchiha's fist with his right hand and proceeded to strike with his other when it was also caught by Sasuke's unoccupied hand.

Both boys tried to use raw strength to overpower one another, the force strong enough for them to dig their sandals further into the dirt. No ninjutsu, no genjutsu, just pure raw power.

"Yes you did! You always took everything from me. Everyone acknowledged you! You were first in your class. You caught the attention of almost everyone. You were always the special person!" Sasuke didn't let his friend continue and with some chakra to his arms pushed him a few feet away.

"I didn't ask for any of this! Why would I take anything from you!" he snarled, sharingan unconsciously flashing and replacing his dark onyx orbs.

"Don't give me this bullshit!" Naruto pointed at him accusingly, "you always had whatever the hell you wanted and I hated you for that. You even took the one person whom I loved and wanted to be with! The only person who ever loved me!" Naruto pushed chakra to his feet and went to deliver a kick to his opponent's ribs, but Sasuke was ready this time and dodged after swiftly kicking Naruto's stomach.

"What is wrong with you! You are angry and hurt and saying things you would never mean! She chose me remember? And you _know_ how hard it was for her to admit it. Do you know what she told me when you were asleep?" Sasuke yelled, his sharingan now bright red from anger. Naruto didn't utter a word and stayed in the ground, clutching his stomach.

"At first, Sakura didn't choose any of us. She wanted us to be only friends again and put all this behind us, but when she saw me so close to death, she just snapped and chose me because that is what she wanted deep inside."

The tension in the air was still there, but neither moved from their position, so Sasuke took this as a chance to continue.

"She never wanted to choose between us because she never wanted to hurt you. She chose your happiness over hers"

Naruto felt his heart skip a beat as he thought of all this. Everything was right under his nose, but he just never stopped to understand the signs. He knew that all along, but his rage blinded him from making sense of all this. It was Sasuke who noticed all this and went through the trouble of explaining it to him.

He was a fool indeed.

Before he even decide on what to say, his best friend stood right in front of him and Naruto finally raised his head up in silent apology. Sasuke gave a half smile and extended his hand, already forgiving him.

"I'm glad you're back you idiot" he said softly, waiting for his friend/brother to take his hand and for everything to be back to normal.

He didn't have to wait for long when Naruto took his outstretched hand and stared hard at him. Both brothers stayed in the same position for a few more minutes until the blonde started scratching his head and giving the Uchiha his infamous (shy) grin.

"I guess I really am an idiot huh, Sasuke…" he murmured, looking at the Uchiha sheepishly. The other snorted and placed his hands back in his pockets.

"Took you long enough to figure that out, Dobe…" Sasuke smirked at the look of disbelieve on his friend's face and turned around to head home, knowing that the other would follow him despite his irritation.

"Teme! I'm not an idiot! Quit calling me names! At least I don't have a stick up my ass!"

"Hn. At least remember to get money when I go someplace to eat, instead of begging a random person beside me for some…idiot."

"Hey! At least I don't waste my money on stupid yucky tomatoes!"

"I don't waste money on unhealthy Ramen…"

"Hey, I earn a lot now that I'm jounin, I can afford anything!"

"Well I'm an Uchiha, I have a mansion, so technically I have more money than you"

"…when was this discussion on money!"

"….I don't know Dobe"

"Hey, at least we've enhanced our argument levels! Instead of always saying how I am better than you"

"Enhanced? You learned a new word dobe?"

"…shut up Teme…"

"Hn"

Before they could continue on with their way towards the Uchiha Compound, Naruto held Sasuke back and both boys stood their ground, one of them waiting for the other.

"I'm…sorry Sasuke…" Naruto apologized, catching the other boy off guard, but the Kyuubi container was not done yet.

"You've been through a lot in your life and I for one should have understood you more than anyone else, because you are my best friend…my brother at heart"

"I was just blinded by jealousy and did not look at the whole picture, which was foolish of me and now I know that. All I've ever wanted was a family and you and Sakura-chan are my family and I will never give you up."

" You deserve Sakura-chan as much as she deserves you…and I am so happy for you guys" Naruto finished and grinned at his best friend, who was for once, speechless.

Once the Kyuubi container felt a hand on his shoulder, he looked up to find the Avenger giving him a half-smile, something so rare to come from Sasuke.

"Naruto…Thank you"

Naruto's eyes widened when he understood exactly why he said it. All this time, Sasuke was seeking his approval and was ecstatic/relieved at what just happened. Smiling at the Avenger, Naruto placed his arms around his friend's shoulder.

"Anytime Teme. Now, let's get back to our training"

"Now you're talking, Dobe"

"You'll pay for mentioning that name again Teme!"

"Your choice of words still amaze me…"

"…shut up Teme…"

"Hn…"

* * *

Sakura had just come back from her half-shift in the hospital, since she couldn't fully concentrate during her work because of her two boys. Sighing softly, she opened the door to her house…

…to find the two she had been thinking about all day sitting in her kitchen, each holding a towel full on ice close to their heads.

"Hey Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled as he stuck his elbow into a bucket of ice. Sakura stared at the two in shock, mostly from how bruised they were.

Before any of the two could utter another word, they found themselves attacked by their teammate with touches and healing chakra.

"What the hell happened? I should have known you two would try to kill each other" As she kept fussing on their health, Naruto smiled at her and ruffled her hair when she was healing a cut on his cheek.

"We're okay Sakura-chan. Training went perfect!" Sakura stared at him for a while, feeling that he was completely different from this morning. His chakra, as well, was peaceful and calm and his smile looked real and not forced. She smiled at the blonde and held his cheeks when he was completely healed.

"I'm so glad you're back Naruto." Naruto grinned and stood up, declaring that he was taking a shower. Once Sasuke and Sakura were alone, the Kunoichi proceeded to heal the Uchiha's wounds. It was silent between them as the Avenger gazed at his woman. Before she could completely finish the check-up, Sakura felt Sasuke's lip graze her forehead and kiss her lips quickly before placing his head on her shoulder to rest. As she stood there, Sakura pulled him closer to her and slowly started playing with his hair.

"Looks like it was a tough day for you" she whispered in his ear. The young Uchiha nodded, running his hands through her arms and digging his face further into her shoulder to take in her lovely, flowery scent.

Sakura smiled and let him stay that way for a while, until they heard the bathroom door open. After separating reluctantly, both sighed and Sakura traced her fingers over her boyfriend's face, taking in all his beautiful features.

"Go take a shower, Sasuke" She pecked him on his lips and went to change her outfit as well. The Uchiha's eyes watched his cherry blossom's back until she disappeared to her room and once she did, he stood up to take his shower when he saw Naruto staring at him with a smile.

"You really love her do you?" the blonde ninja stated. Sasuke blushed slightly and turned to the other direction of the room.

"She helps me breath…" he admitted to the only person he can fully share his secrets to. The said person smiled at him and went to get ready for bed.

"Take care of her, Sasuke" Naruto stated before disappearing to a room Sakura gave him to spend the night in. Sasuke smirked and continued on his way to wash up. The faster he did, the faster he could get into bed, where his cherry blossom was sleeping in right now.

_

* * *

_

Next Month

"You are both so…DEAD!" Sakura screeched at her teammates after getting out of a trap made by them. Naruto and Sasuke grinned and high-fived one another before they ran for their lives. Not bothering to give them any chance to run away, Sakura disappeared, determined to catch them and punch the living daylights out of them.

On a corner lay Hatake Kakashi, reading his book under a tree. He was amused at how the team dynamic had strengthened in the past month. He was glad his kids were able to come to an understanding and it made him relieved that they didn't separate, any of them.

Naruto has finally accepted the fact that Sakura was with Sasuke now and seemed to get even closer to them as family. Sakura still blushed whenever the Uchiha was close to her and stared at her with his onyx eyes, though his charm did not affect her at all during training, like now. Sasuke seemed to be dealing better with life after he got the one person he believed he will be living the rest of his life with. Overall, Kakashi was proud of what he team had accomplished so far and he knew that this was only the beginning.

The ex-ANBU laughed out loud once he saw both boys get out of the hole/crater created by their female teammate, who was currently smirking at their current predicament.

"Yup, this is all just the beginning"

Phew, Done...

* * *

Well I hope you like it enough to give me a review :P It wasn't the ending I was hoping for but I guess this is as good as it can get...

Please review! Next chapter will be up as soon as I can! If you have any ideas you would like for me to put in the next chapter, please do inform me :)

Sadbird


	15. A Normal Day Side Story

Hello everyone! I loved all the reviews you sent me and I couldn't help but add this to the story. Some humor after all the drama that happened and after I wrote "Tried Harder" I just had to write something a bit more...upbeat?

This is a very small part of the next chapter, the beginning of "18", which is (maybe) going to be a very stressful chapter and I just wanted it to start a bit funny before going serious.

I hope you enjoy it!

Random thought: Meh, I feel like humor!

* * *

It was a bright, sunny day. The birds were happily chirping, the weather was absolutely perfect-

"AH! MY EYES!"

"WHAT THE HELL NARUTO!"

"I'M SORRY!"

"DOBE! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT YELLING!"

-and Team 7 was going at it again…

Yup, a normal day.

The villagers stared at the Haruno household with confusion written all over their faces, but shrugged later on, used to commotion that came from Team 7.

"HOW THE HELL SHOULD I KNOW THAT YOU GUYS ARE MAKING OUT IN THE FREAKING HALLWAY!"

"IT ISN'T A BIG DEAL YOU BIG IDIOT! YOU DON'T HAVE TO SCREAM IT OUT FOR THE WHOLE WORLD TO KNOW!"

"I'M SORRY OKAY? I'M JUST STILL NOT USED TO YOU TWO TOGETHER! IT'S SO STRANGE! IT'S LIKE MY BROTHER AND SISTER ARE MAKING OUT!"

"WE'VE BEEN TOGETHER FOR TEN MONTHS NOW! WHEN _ARE_ YOU GOING TO GET USED TO THIS!"

"NEVER!"

Shikamaru stood in front of Sakura's house with a sweat drop, weighting down the option of whether he should knock the door or not.

"THAT'S IT DOBE; I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU!"

"YOU GUYS! THIS IS _MY_ HOUSE! DO _NOT_ DESTROY IT!"

"OW! SAKURA-CHAN THAT HURT"

…Maybe he should get back later?

* * *

Haha, I hope you liked it. You just saw a new side of Team 7 (not completely new) and a few of Shikamaru, poor guy. I know it's short but I just thought of it and would like to share it with you. Yes they are 18 here and yes, I will continue this in the next chapter! Please keep reading!

Also, tell me if I should throw in some more of these random moments :) It will help.

Sadbird


	16. Mission Part 1

Finally, updated :) This is the first part of them being 18 years old. Some interesting things will happen and I hope you enjoy it! I hope you enjoy a small scene i set up between Sasuke and Sakura because I certainly did.

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto or else Sakura would be SO much stronger.

Random comment: Being full is so much better than being hungry!

* * *

They were eighteen years old when a piece of their heart was brought back.

Team 7 was currently seated in Sakura's living room (after the interesting phase they have gone through earlier this morning) going over their mails. Naruto was grumbling some nonsense and rubbing a sore spot on his head. It was all peaceful until the future hokage tensed and stood up from his place, catching the attention of his two teammates.

"Hey guys, I got a letter…"

Sasuke snorted at his best friend's vague declaration and went back to checking his mail, mostly bills and from fans.

"No shit Sherlock" The Uchiha replied, but stiffened when he stared at one particular letter. Catching that look, Naruto grinned and gracefully (not) took a seat next to the stunned individual, waiting for him to say whatever he had to.

"Dobe…" Sasuke stated; his eyes still plastered on that letter as he ripped it open and quickly ran through its contents. Naruto did the same exact thing with his and after a minute or so; they stared at one another with unforeseen excitement.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at both her teammates when they looked at her with curious eyes, as if expecting something from her.

"Check your letters fast, Sakura" Sasuke said and smirked when she did as she was asked. It was when her eyes popped open did they grin madly at her (in Naruto's case). Not able to contain his excitement, Naruto stood up and high fived his best friends.

"We've been recommended to take the ANBU exams!" he exclaimed and did a small back flip to express his happiness. Sasuke smirked at the Jinchuuriki and glanced at a smiling Sakura, who was busy re-reading the ANBU captain's letter.

The cherry blossom felt so proud of herself, since receiving a letter directly from the head ANBU was practically an honor. However, she felt that it was a bit too soon. Her powers weren't the best they could be and she felt unready. Sasuke saw all that through her eyes and was about to comment on his findings when they all heard a knock on the door.

The owner of the house went to open the door and saw Shikamaru rubbing his head lazily and looking at Sakura with one eye open. The pink-haired Jounin raised an eye brow at the lazy idiot who was staring behind her wearily.

"What's up Shikamaru?" Sakura's amused expression seemed to bring Shikamaru's attention back to her as he forced himself to act professional.

Man, it was troublesome. He just hoped that the guys inside are okay…with all the commotion he heard this morning.

"Hokage-sama requests your presence…all of you" he stated and left before he could get a confirmation. He felt like cloud watching and they already wasted enough of his precious time.

* * *

Tsunade smiled when she saw the members of team 7 standing before her. From the looks on their faces, the slug princess could tell that they received the news of taking the ANBU exams. However, she had to go straight to business, since this coming mission was important and had to be completed as soon as possible.

Just as she was about to explain the contents, a loud 'poof' was heard and Konoha's copy ninja, Hatake Kakashi, appeared amid the smoke. Tsunade twitched and tried to control her anger, rather saying in a very calm/dangerous tone-

"You're late Kakashi…"

The copy ninja laughed sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head in what _seemed_ to be an apology.

"Well, I was being chased by turtles and had to…"

"LIAR!" Sakura and Naruto filled in for the Godaime, saving her the trouble of doing the exact same thing…in a more civilized manner of course.

Kakashi just shrugged and ruffled his team's multi-colored hairs, getting some aggravated grunts (you could guess from who), whining noises, and a sheepish smile. Sakura was the only one in the team who Kakashi still views as a 12-year-old (not because of her strength, mind you) girl, since she was the only one who still lets him spoil her up. Once the morning greetings had been done, Tsunade went straight to business.

"A few days ago, the Feudal Lord of Fire Country sent me a classified scroll, holding important information that can lead to our demise if handed to the wrong people. This is why I got ANBU to deal with it. Along with the scroll, he has asked for my best medical ninja. It seemed that his son is dying from a poison inflicted by an ambush when he was being escorted a few weeks ago."

"Sakura, you are to heal Ichimaru Seiji, the Lord's son. As for you Kakashi, you will be given a scroll which contains my reply. You are to keep it hidden and safe with you, as it holds classified information that will be read ONLY by Lord Ichimaru himself."

"This is an A-rank mission and you are to expect rogue ninjas to hinder you slightly. Also, if Seiji-san is not healed, we will have a huge political problem with the Fire country. We do NOT want that, do you understand me? So hurry up, you have thirty hours before the poison finishes its job and kills the Lord's son"

Team 7 nodded and after pocketing the scroll, disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Tsunade coughing and glaring.

"I hate it when they do that! Shizune! Bring me some Sake!" She just hoped that they could get the job done in time.

* * *

The four jounins didn't waste any precious time and hurried towards the Konoha Gates after packing up their bags. For once, Kakashi was there on time and without further due, they all started making their way towards Fire Country.

"Ne, Sakura-chan, doesn't it normally take two days to reach Fire Country?" Naruto asked after an hour of constant running, suddenly wary when he saw her tense facial expression.

"It takes two days if we spend the night sleeping, around thirty-two hours if we don't" she whispered, pushing chakra to her feet so as she would run faster. The men took the hint and pushed themselves in order to reach in time.

They have been running nonstop for twenty hours now, with only a few short breaks. They didn't stop for rest even after spotting a small village nearby and continued while observing their surroundings, just in case the scroll was at risk of being stolen.

A few hours later, Kakashi halted his team, mentioning the beginning of a fight. As was expected, a few missing nins tried to steal/destroy the scroll and get rid of the messengers. However, little did they know that they were dealing with the three Sannins' apprentices and even though it was a tough/outnumbered battle, the four Konoha nins managed to make it out alive and almost unscathed.

Thought that battle managed to waste their precious time, they were finally able to reach the fire country a couple of hours earlier than what was planned.

* * *

Sakura and the boys slouched on their seats in exhaustion, waiting for the arrival of the Feudal Lord.

"Can you believe we made it in time?" Naruto panted, smirking at his teammates. The black-haired Uchiha smirked in satisfaction and the Rosette grinned tiredly. Before any of the two could answer back, they heard footsteps approaching and quickly adjusted themselves in order to be presentable.

The moment the Lord entered, Sakura could see how drained he was. He had bags under his eyes and his face was paler than normal. His shoulders were slightly dropping from what seemed to be exhaustion. The Rosette didn't have time to contemplate any further when his icy-blue eyes pinned her to her place.

"Girl, if you have time to sit here and stare, then I command you to head to my son's room and heal him already. My soldiers will escort you there." The Lord deadpanned and Sakura didn't think twice before standing up, bowing, and leaving quickly with the assigned soldiers. Once Sakura left the room, the Lord slumped on his throne and stared at the group of ninjas in front of him.

Naruto and Sasuke were trying so hard not to glare up at the Lord after insulting Sakura and ordering her around. However, a look from Kakashi had them calm down slightly and look at their client with indifferent expressions. Oblivious to their stares, the Lord ordered his other soldiers to retreat from the room and after sensing how reluctant they were to leave their Lord with three strangers, he snapped.

"I asked you to leave the room. I trust these Konoha Shinobi with my life and I don't need you to fuss over me like I am a child. Leave, now!" The forty-year old Lord exclaimed with a vicious glare. Unused to the Lord's actions, the soldiers bowed quickly to their leader and silently left the room.

Once he was sure they were secured, his blue-eyes closed tiredly as he began rubbing them to sooth the headache that had begun ever since the start of this whole catastrophe. After breathing in and out for a few minutes, he ran a hand through his brown hair and finally set his eyes and full concentration on the three shinobis sitting before him.

"I apologize for my rudeness today gentleman, but as you can see, this is not the best of my days. I am Lord Ichimaru Hisao and I am really grateful that you were able to reach safely and on time to save my son."

Kakashi straightened his posture and bowed after a few second, along with the other two.

"We are pleased to have your approval Ichimaru-sama. My name is Hatake Kakashi, the one next to me is Uzumaki Naruto and last is Uchiha Sasuke. The female member's name is-"

"Haruno Sakura; recently reached the age of eighteen, Jounin status, apprentice of the Godaime since she was thirteen and currently one of the top three medics in all of the shinobi countries. Yes, I know her Hatake-san. It is normal for one to know about his son's medic is it not?" The Feudal Lord asked with slight amusement. Kakashi nodded his head and reached out to get the scroll from his pocket.

Hisao look up in alarm once he set his eyes on the scroll sent by Tsunade and quickly ushered the copy nin to give it to him. Once the scroll was in his possession, the members of Team 7 sat quietly, observing Ichimaru's reaction towards the message.

A few minutes later, the Lord breathed in deeply and tore the scroll again and again until it was non-existent. The message was top secret and it was better to destroy it before anyone sets his hands on it.

"Ichimaru-sama?" Kakashi asked, confused by his actions and puzzled once the Lord let out a small smile.

"Gentlemen, why don't you three go to your assigned rooms while Haruno-san finishes with her healing." Ichimaru offered. Imagine his surprise when all three stayed in their place, eyes fixed on the door Sakura left from.

"Aren't you exhausted?" he asked, wanting to know why they choose to wait for their teammate when all their needs could be met in a few minutes.

"Ichimaru-sama. We aren't going to rest until Sakura-chan comes out of this door. We are all in this together. We rest when she does" Naruto explained and the Feudal Lord raised an amused eye-brow at the man's decision. Before he could enquire as to why he would do such a thing, the doors burst open and one of the soldiers, who had been escorting Sakura, laid his eyes on Naruto.

"Uzumaki-san, Haruno-san requested for you."

Not even asking for permission to be dismissed, the kyuubi container rushed towards the guard and towards what he believed was Sakura's very weak chakra signature.

* * *

"Naruto!" Sakura sighed in relief once she saw the one she desperately wanted in the room and ushered for him to come closer. Naruto stared at the pale adolescence who lay on the bed and asked his friend if there was anything he could do to help.

"I wouldn't have asked for you if there wasn't you idiot" She yelled and grabbed his hands in order to place it directly over the patient's stomach.

"Push a balanced amount of chakra to your hands, now. Make sure it's not too much to destroy his skin" she said and smiled once she saw Naruto producing the amount she wanted.

Concentrating hard, the cherry blossom gathered all the energy she had and started the last process of healing the young boy. He couldn't be more than ten years old and she'd be damned before she let him die. Fortunately, Naruto was smart enough to not say a word and let her concentrate on her work.

She was able to identify the poison and quickly go through her medical pack and inject the antidote inside his body. However, the poison has already spread to his lungs, liver, intestine, and kidneys. She had to personally remove the poison from his internal organs, one by one. The last organ was the intestine and she didn't have any more chakra to use, hence why Naruto was here. His endless reserve of chakra was a great help.

A few minutes later, Sakura told her companion to stop emitting anymore chakra and once she made sure that there wasn't any trace of poison in his system anymore, she took her hands off her patient. Unfortunately, she miscalculated how much energy she wasted and before she could even blink, she found herself in what seemed to be Sasuke's arms.

"Sakura?"

"Sakura-chan?"

Both boys stared at the worn out woman, who was smiling slightly. Ichimaru Hasao walked towards his son, expecting to see him dead. Imagine his surprise when he saw a healthy looking boy, breathing heavily but otherwise alive. His face wasn't as pale as it was an hour ago and he didn't seem like he was in pain anymore.

"The poison has been completely removed from his system. His internal organs are all safe from shutting down. Just…just let him rest and drink a lot of fluids and he will be okay within three days"

That was the last thing she said before she fainted from what they called chakra exhaustion. Sasuke and Naruto let out a sigh of relief when they knew that she only needed rest. Hasao sighed in relief and ordered his servants to escorts his guests to the four guest rooms to get some well deserved rest and nourishment.

"Two bedrooms Ichimaru-sama. We have to stay together. We're used to staying in our formation." Kakashi stated, bowing towards the Lord, who nodded in understanding and allowed them to leave the room.

Once everyone but the nurses he hired for his son left, he walked towards his young boy and smoothed his black hair. He was indebted to Haruno Sakura and to Konoha.

* * *

Two Days Later…

Sakura woke up in an unfamiliar room and tensed up for a second until she felt the familiar chakra signature right behind her. Smiling once she felt arms wrap around her waist from behind, she turned around to see Sasuke staring intently into her eyes.

"Good morning" He rasped, having just woken up once she moved slightly. He pulled her closer towards him and kissed her forehead gently, glad that she was finally awake. The medic buried her face into her boyfriend's neck and took in his smell of forest rain.

"G'morning" she murmured when she was comfortable in his embrace. The Uchiha chuckled lightly at her sudden affection towards him but he wasn't complaining one bit. Sakura marvelled at the beautiful sound he just did, but snapped out of it when she remembered why she was here in the first place. Looking up at his onyx eyes, she asked how her patient was doing. Sasuke rewarded her with another dashing smile.

"He pulled through. His heart beat is strong, blood pressure is back to normal, and his face is gaining back its original color. He woke up yesterday mid afternoon and did not complain from any pain ever since." He finished and watched as his lover's expression changed from drowsy to ecstatic. She sat up when she smelt the smell of freshly made breakfast and looked down at the Uchiha in confusion. His hair was spread out as he slept on his back, with his right arms draped on over his forehead. He was disappointed at the loss of warmth, but answered her unspoken question nonetheless.

"You were asleep for two whole days and Dobe was starting to worry. I ordered the servants to serve you late breakfast, since you practically haven't eaten anything ever since we left Konoha."

The smell of the food made her stomach grumble and she thanked her boyfriend with a huge smile, warming him to his very core. He watched as she literally wolfed down her food within minutes and sighed from relief once her stomach was satiated.

As she gulped down the last of the orange juice, she felt Sasuke crawl behind her and whisper words in her ear that made her blush like a young teenager again.

"Let's shower together" he whispered and smirked when she started blushing and when she tried to detach herself from him. Once he let her, she quickly got up from the bed and turned to stare at him, horrified.

"Sasuke! This is not right! We're in Lord Ichimaru's house!" The Uchiha shrugged nonchalantly and strode towards her like a predator, while the pink-haired medic walked backwards with a blush that threatened to surpass her hair color. It wasn't until she hit the wall behind her that she worried that maybe he would actually do what he just said moment ago. It secretly thrilled her, but she wasn't about to admit that to his already huge ego.

Sasuke caged his pink-haired savior with both his arms on either side of her head and looked down at her with an amused expression. She barely reached his collarbone and he wondered how such a tiny figure was able to break down mountains and disable the strongest ninjas with just one punch.

Sakura saw Sasuke dipping his head lower and overwhelmed with his dizzying presence all over, she couldn't help but close her eyes and wait until his lips met hers in a passionate, intense kiss.

Sakura's heart was escalating at a very alarming rate once his tongue invaded her mouth, the reason why she wrapped her arms around his neck desperately so as she wouldn't fall down from the intensity of all this. Sasuke wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer for them to be stuck together from head to toe, leaving no space between them.

The medic didn't realize they were moving towards the bathroom until they were already inside. She detached her mouth from his and tried to stop this from happening.

"Sasuke-kun, stop! This is – Ah!"

The raven-haired jounin shut her up by ravishing her neck and caressing her body. Sasuke was all over her and he made sure she couldn't gather her thoughts.

"S-Sasuke…kun"

Unable to control herself any longer, Sakura ran her hand through his raven locks and began kissing him blindly; his forehead, cheeks, noses, whatever she could reach. Sasuke lifted her up, forcing the young medic to wrap her legs around his waist for better leverage. The Kunoichi pulled his hair backwards and kissed him passionately once his lips were in sight.

The moment she felt one of his hands on her inner thighs, she couldn't help but let out a moan, turning on the Uchiha even more. A small tug on his shirt made him detach his mouth from hers as she boldly took off his top and continued on with their make-out session.

Unknown to the Kunoichi, Sasuke turned the water of the shower on and waited for it to heat up before stepping in with his distracted girlfriend.

* * *

The poor woman was still blushing heavily, even after all of Team 7 were now seated in front of Lord Ichimaru.

"I trust that you all are well rested then?" Ichimaru smiled at the four jounins.

"Ichimaru-sama. We give our humble gratitude" Kakashi answered back. The lord laughed out loud and dismissed what the copy-nin said, exclaiming that it was the least he could do after dragging them on this hard journey. His gaze fixed on the only female of the group and she straightened up when she noticed the attention on her now.

"Haruno Sakura, I am deeply thankful of what you've done to my only son. I also apologize for my rudeness when I first saw you; I can assure you this will never happen again"

His declaration had her startled, but she quickly got her grip and smiled politely.

"It was understandable Ichimaru-sama. I've checked on Seiji-san a few moments ago and I can tell you that he has been fully recovered and free of poison" Ichimaru smiled at the young girl and nodded in gratitude.

"Sakura-san, please take away the formalities. It appeared that we have formed a strong bond in this event" Icy blue eyes lingered on Naruto, who was grinning from ear to ear. Naruto had gotten closer to the Lord and his son. He told them many interesting stories that had them acknowledge the said ninja.

The medic was taken back and sputtered on her next statement.

"T-Thank you so much…Hisao-sama" she smiled, blushing slightly for another reason now. The Lord smiled and mentioned that they could stay for another night as his guests, but Kakashi politely declined his offer. They had to report to Konoha in two days and it would be troublesome if they were late. Ichimaru nodded his head and wished them a safe trip back.

Before the group could leave the palace, a small voice stopped them. When they turned towards the source of the sound, they saw a young boy with jet, black hair and blue eyes identical to his father. Naruto smiled brightly and ruffled Seji's hair.

"Hey brat, how are you today?"

"Fine Naruto-nii! Are you all leaving now?" The sadness on Seiji's face was obvious and Sakura smiled at his adorable expression. He reminded her so much of her late brother.

"Promise you'll come back soon?" he asked, looking up at the three. Kakashi went ahead to scout for any enemies.

Sakura smiled down at the kid and rubbed his back as he hugged her tightly.

"We will try to pass by when we're around okay? Take care of yourself Seiji-kun okay?" the Kid nodded and waved to them as they all disappeared into the forest.

* * *

"Ne, Kakashi-sensei? Since we're not in a hurry this time, can we rest in that village we saw on our way to Hisao-san's place?" Naruto asked, unhidden excitement passing through him at the thought of sleeping on a bed instead of out in the cold. The copy nin chuckled and nodded his head; they deserved to have a few hours break.

However, that victory was short lived when the kyuubi container smelled a very familiar and dangerous presence lurking very close by. He silently glanced at his teammates and they nodded with serious expression, having also sensed a high-level chakra a few feet away.

"Keep your guards up" Kakashi ordered. They never even bothered to mask their chakra because they were close enough to the enemy for him to sense them easily. As soon as they landed right in front of him, Team 7 just couldn't hide how surprised and tensed they were when they realized who was in front of them.

The younger Uchiha stepped in front of Sakura and snarled viciously at the akatsuki cloak.

"Itachi…"

* * *

Dum Dum Dum Dum! hehe, I know this is shocking and you want to find out more, but I'm leaving it here. Please don't kill me! Remember, your reviews really help in pushing me to continue writing!

I reread the story a few times and published it right after I made sure there aren't a lot of mistakes. Hopefully, there aren't much :)

Sadbird


	17. Setsuni? Part 2

Hello everyone. Here is the next part of the story. Enjoy!

Same Disclaimer.

Random comment: First day of University and my final year! Woohoo!

* * *

The four members of Team 7 were so tensed up and ready for battle against the one and only, Uchiha Itachi. However, the elder Uchiha just stared at each individual one by one until his eyes rested on the only female member of the team.

Sakura gulped nervously when she saw that all of Itachi's attention was solely on her. The other boys felt the heavy stare and blocked the sharingan user's view by standing in front of the Rosette, in fear that she may be a target.

"Ma ma…Isn't this a pleasant surprise?" the sarcastic tone was practically dripping out of Kakashi's mouth, but the elder Uchiha still did not say a word in reply. Instead, he focused his attention on the pink-haired woman, who was curious to as why he hadn't attacked yet.

It was at that moment that Itachi did some seals and in a matter of second, three clones were beside him, seemingly ready to battle.

_I should stop jinxing everything…_ Sakura thought with an inward sigh as she and her teammates got ready for battle.

"Katon: Gogakyou no jutsu" the four Itachis said in unison and four different fire balls were being thrown towards the Konoha shinobi, who jumped out of the way just in time. Unfortunately, this lead to them separating, giving Itachi a perfect opening. Not wasting this precious opportunity, he started attacking them individually with each of his clones with pure taijutsu.

For the first time in his life, Sasuke's attention was more on his teammates than on his brother. Sure, he was furious enough to be blinded by rage, but he was inwardly surprised at how calm and level-headed he still was, despite that person's presence.

"You are not focusing, little brother." Itachi's voice rang in his ears and the smaller Uchiha glared at the betrayer of his family, activating his sharingan.

"Itachi, I am going to kill you," His stated bluntly, as if it was a mere fact. Through his bloodline, he was able to see his chakra patterns and cursed once he realized that he was merely fighting a clone. The biggest shock, however, was when he saw who the real Itachi was fighting.

"Sakura!"

The medic nin glanced at Sasuke, confused to as why he had a terrified expression, but her lack of attention to her own battle had cost her dearly. She felt a heavy body mass embrace her heavily, though there was no harshness in that treatment. Sakura was caught by surprise when she noticed that she was engulfed by Itachi himself and both were currently falling to the ground.

_What the! _Before she could even contemplate on why the hell would Uchiha Itachi literally _pounce_ on her, the forest view disappeared from her sight and the two were transported somewhere else.

* * *

Viridian eyes opened to stare at her surroundings; she must have been transported at least a few hours away from her teammates. She didn't have enough time to think about why the elder Uchiha would do such things as she scampered away from the deadly shinobi and quickly focused chakra on her hands to ready herself for battle.

"Kunoichi, I'm not here to fight you." Itachi stated dryly and watched as she stiffened further, not daring to look into his eyes, instead finding his collarbone a safer option. His amusement escalated once he saw her concentrating a huge amount of chakra in her hands to form a shape of a scalpel, determined not to give up without a fight.

_How foolish to think she even had the chance to kill me._

Though he would have enjoyed testing how strong this particular kunoichi has become, he was running out of time and all amusement aside, his went back to business.

"Look at me, Kunoichi."

What was she, stupid? Being teammates with two sharingan users over the years, Sakura knew all about that particular Doujutsu and she knew that she could be trapped in a deadly genjutsu once she glimpsed at his blood red eyes. A full minute had passed and the Rosette was growing weary from the elder brother's silence and she never looked up until…

"Sakura…" he sighed out her name tiredly. It was a tired, miserable sigh that caught her off guard and made her unconsciously stare into his eyes. Realizing her mistake a bit too late, she flinched and got ready to experience the terrible 'Tsukuyomi'. However, no genjutus was cast upon her and she was still alive, which proved that he really didn't want to fight.

Lowering her guard slightly and stopping her chakra from flowing into her hands, Sakura studied the Uchiha's expression and wondered what on earth he wanted from her. Catching the woman's questioning gaze, Itachi finally spoke.

"It is your brother." He watched as she paled so quickly he almost regretted informing her of the matter, but she just had to know. Giving her another full minute to grasp what he just said, he continued,

"He is still alive." More silence greeted him and even though he mostly preferred such moments, he was getting irritated at the mute girl standing before him.

"Wha?" the girl uttered and stared some more at Itachi. Slowly, she got her act back together and glared fully at the Uchiha.

"Are you trying to mess with me! Mentioning people who are _dead_-"

"Your brother is very much alive." He interrupted and waited for the girl to finally accept the truth. Sakura stared into his eyes, the eyes of a murderer and couldn't help but believe that he was saying the truth, because Uchiha Itachi would not waste his time trying to deceive a girl such as herself when he could easily kill her with one single blow...or eye contact in his case.

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked, her form slightly drooped from the news she had just received. Sure she was shocked, but she didn't want to hold on to that thread of hope for him to tear it away with his cruel torturing methods. However, the further she looked at his eyes, the more she believed him.

"Because you have the right to now."

Trying to understand the meaning of all this, she asked, "Why are you telling me this _now_?"

The Uchiha stared at her some more, before answering honestly, "Because you are of legal age."

Now _that_ confused her and the more she turned the wheels inside her head to come up with a conclusion, the more baffled she became. Desperate to understand all of this, her mind came up with an answer that could partially explain why he knew this particular piece of information. Fury was clouding her judgement once she put one and one together.

"You bastard! Are you the one who killed my family! Sasuke wasn't enough for you!" without even waiting for him to respond, Sakura ran towards her enemy and destroyed the ground they were previously standing on. The earth split and swallowed the trees and all creatures surrounding the area, but Itachi had already jumped away from the vicious attack and stepped away from the girl.

"You will calm down girl. You don't know what you are saying." The Uchiha tried to reason, but the Rosette was far gone, jumping up in the air to try to kick the Uchiha's head and hopefully, break his skull. Unfortunately, he dodged rather easily and the only thing Sakura saw after that was pure darkness.

_Setsuni…_ Was he really alive?

* * *

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan! Wake up!" Sakura heard someone yelling in her ear and as an impulse; she punched whatever her knuckles could reach.

"OW! What the hel- Sakura-chan?" Naruto sputtered and looked questionably at the groggy, looking woman.

The medic nin sat with the help of her blonde friend, confused about what happened in the first place. It took a few seconds until her memories finally came back to her. She whipped her head around, finding no trace of Itachi anywhere and so asked her teammate, who seemed to be the only person around.

"Naruto? What happened? Where are Sasuke and Kakashi?" Naruto smiled softly at her in what seemed to be relief and pulled her gently to him in a bone-crushing hug.

"I thought you were dead when I saw you lying on the ground like that…" he muttered. That caught her by surprise, but the slight trembling of his arms as he hugged her closer to him made her realize how scared he actually was and so, she let him do as he pleased.

After a few minutes of complete silence, the whiskered man finally pulled Sakura away from the embrace and grinned at her happily. Rolling her eyes at his sudden behavior, she looked around the forest trying to find a small trace of her other teammates' chakra signatures, since the blonde idiot didn't answer her pervious question.

"Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei are on their way here. Itachi blocked us on our way towards you so I was told to come find you while they fought" Naruto said and smiled once he smelt them already coming closer towards where they are now. Sakura sighed from relief once she felt them coming nearer as well and stood up, dusting her clothes from unwanted leaves.

Once Kakashi and Sasuke came into view, Sakura had to bite her lips to keep herself from running into the Uchiha, since his face showed signs of frustration. Kakashi looked about the same, once he greeted them happily and looked up at the female member of the team from head to toe, checking if she had sustained any injuries during their separation. However, the Uchiha was a bit more vocal with his observation.

"Sakura…Did he do anything to you?" he asked, trying to hold his anger and double checking any injuries that he might have missed on her. Surprisingly, the kunioichi smiled slightly and shook her head, confusing Sasuke even more.

"What happened then, Sakura-chan?" The kyuubi asked, aware how…dubious the situation was. The stare Sakura was receiving from the three men had her sigh and cross her arms, trying to contemplate what to tell them.

"Actually…nothing happened. I was battling Itachi with you guys and the next thing I knew, I was awakened by Naruto" she lied and tried to look as calm as possible. She didn't know if they believed her or not, but she did her best to change the subject. It was better if she looked more into the matter of whether Setsuni was alive or not by herself, without worrying her team.

"What happened when I left?" she asked, looking at each man carefully, actually surprised that there weren't any injuries on any of them either. Kakashi took the job of informing the female member what happened after they were separated. Itachi had been a clone the whole time, fooled even with the sharingan eye. Once Sasuke and himself managed to strike him with two chidori's to the chest, the (what seemed to be) real Itachi disappeared with a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, they found a completely different person instead, a missing nin from Iwa.

"It turned out that he used a forbidden technique, where you can transfer thirty percent of your chakra into another shinobi's body."

"What? How is that even possible?" Sakura asked in disbelief.

"With the help of Itachi-san's chakra, that body is able to use all of his techniques…to a certain extent. We were fighting a completely different person the whole time."

* * *

_With Itachi_

Many miles away, Itachi opened his eyes and tried to focus his vision to the figure beside him. The tall mist nin, Hoshigaku Kisame, grinned at his partner once he saw him wake up from his deep meditative state, asking if he was done with his "personal mission".

"Kisame. Let's go." The Uchiha genius ignored the question and made his way towards the akatsuki base. The shark nin shrugged and followed his silent partner. The elder Uchiha unconsciously gripped his chest in slight pain, trying to ignore the urge to cough out in front of the Mist nin. He just hoped his time will be up soon…

* * *

Team 7 stayed hours trying to search for any sign of Uchiha Itachi after he disappeared. They looked everywhere but after four hours of constant search and after a few sputters and curses from Naruto, they gave up. They decided to rest in a small village in order to "restore their chakra supply", not that they actually lost much, but the three members shrugged at their teacher's lame excuse (yet again).

_At the Inn..._

"Sasuke?" Sakura asked once they separated from Naruto and Kakashi and got to their own room. The sharingan user was quiet ever since they began the whole search, worrying Sakura greatly as she touched his forearm softly. He jumped slightly from the touch and caught his eyes with her. Both sat on the bed, one with worry and the other just staring right through her. Unable to take the silent treatment, she placed her hand on his right cheek, looking straight into his black, onyx eyes.

"Sasuke? Are you okay?"

Sasuke lowered his head and let his forehead touch hers gently. He breathed in her scent as he closed his eyes and held the hand that was slowly caressing his cheek, relieved that she was alive.

At first, he kissed her cheek and then went lower and lower until he reached her collarbone, grazing his lips with butterfly touches. Finally, he rested his unoccupied cheek on breasts and pushed her down with his body weight until they were both lying flat on the bed. They stayed in that position for quite a while and Sakura didn't do anything but run her hands gently through his jet-black hair, soothing him slowly.

Sasuke heard her heart beating strongly and couldn't help but marvel at how the sound calmed his own. She was alive and right under him, she was here.

"I love you" he muttered and raised his head when he heard her breath hitch. He rested his chin resting in between the valley of her breast and watched her so much intense and passion in his eyes, he made the rosette blush like a silly little girl again. It was one of the very rare times where he voiced his affections for her and so, she treasured moments like these.

Sakura knew then that he was afraid…afraid that he might have lost her had Itachi been keen on killing her.

Unaware by her own actions, the pink-haired woman grabbed Sasuke's face and pulled him towards her in a rough, desperate kiss, which he returned back just as aggressively.

The moment Sasuke's lips captured hers; Sakura felt her whole body shiver from pleasure. She parted her lips for her lover once he slowly prodded her lips with his eager tongue. Grabbing a fistful of her hair to hold her in place, the darker of the two pushed his tongue in and started sweeping it over her perfectly even teeth, emitting a shuddering moan from Sakura.

Once they broke the kiss, with both of them panting, Sasuke ran his thumb over her plump lips and smirked with smug satisfaction once he saw the dazed look coming from the medic. His lips found their way to her neck as he sucked gently on her pulse, hearing another beautiful mewl of pleasure.

"Sasuke…" Sakura moaned as she grabbed a fistful of Sasuke's hair, trying to get a grip of something before she went insane. She was so distracted to hear the sound of her zipper being opened as she tried her hardest to quiet her moans. Kakashi and Naruto were in the other room and knowing their sense of hearing was higher than average, she just hopped that she could be quiet enough to finish their…activity.

The next thing she knew, she was naked from the waist up and staring at a very hungry looking Sasuke. Blushing from the attention, she shyly tugged at her companion's dark shirt, urging him to take off his top. Chuckling from amusement, the Uchiha complied with his lover's plead and once again, trapped her between the soft mattress and his hard, warm chest. Gasping in pleasure, the Kunoichi started running her hands over Sasuke's broad chest, forcing the Uchiha to close his eyes in peaceful bliss. He pulled her in for another breathtaking kiss, battling her tongue and winning in the end as he nibbled her lower lip and sucked gently on it.

"S-Sasuke-kun…more" Sakura pleaded and Sasuke smirked at her impatient-self. However, he wasn't in the mood for foreplay as well and so, started descending his way downwards as he took off her pants.

"Sasuke…I love you, too" The rosette moaned and Sasuke's heart started beating tenfold as he thanked her for her love with his actions.

* * *

_A couple of hours later..._

"Oi! Teme! Sakura-chan! Why the hell are you both asleep at six in the afternoon!"

Sasuke woke up at the fist knock and glared in annoyance at the door. He could feel the chakra signatures behind the door and stood up to quickly wear his clothes before the idiot thought they were dead and knocked the door down. A shift in the bed had the Uchiha look over to his pink-haired angel, who woke up with tousled hair and glared at the door as if her eyes would quiet the dumbass down.

"Ugh, We're coming Naruto! Keep your pants up…" She muttered the last part and went to look for her clothes that were spread all over the room. Once they were decent, Sasuke opened the door to see one impatient Naruto and a lazy looking Kakashi, reading his infamous porn book.

"Come on you guys! Stop acting all lovey dovey and let's go have dinner! I heard there's a ramen place here" Naruto said impatiently and grabbed Sakura's thin wrists the moment she came out of the room.

"Naruto! Slow down!" Sakura pleas…demands were ignored as the whiskered man dragged his pink-haired teammate downstairs and outside the inn they took temporary residence in. Sasuke smirked as he followed his lively companions with Kakashi, who was busy giggling like a girl.

_I can't believe he was an ANBU_ Sasuke thought, rolling his eyes at his teacher's behaviour.

* * *

"Ah! I am so full!"An enthusiastic and very full Naruto exclaimed as they all exited the ramen restaurant.

"Dobe, be quiet" The Uchiha muttered once he took his steps beside the blonde idiot.

Kakashi had excused himself a long time ago, once Naruto was in his fourth bowl of ramen, succeeding in escaping his three students when they were too distracted to notice and so, they were going back to the inn alone.

Smiling at her boys, who were busy arguing with one another, Sakura took her time to look around the small village since she never actually had the time to before. Their missions were always done with tight schedules and they never had the time to walk around and meet new faces until now.

The Kunoichi would have continued on with her silent musings if she hadn't caught sight of familiar red hair. The person had already rounded the corner of a building, but that didn't stop the medic from following him and forgetting completely about her teammates, caught in a trance.

"Sakura?" Sasuke called out when he noticed her going to a different route.

Both boys stopped and stared at their teammate's back as she walked into a neighbourhood, oblivious of her name being called.

Sakura's silent walk turned into a full out sprint when she focused on that same person's chakra, it was painfully familiar.

Once she was but a few feet away, she called out the name, the name she had rarely mentioned ever since her tragedy.

"Setsuni!"

Panting slightly, she watched as the small figure stopped in his tracks and turned around slowly with surprised, emerald…no…_viridian_ eyes.

She waited for him to get over his astonished expression and come running into her arms. She waited for something, anything but the words he had just uttered.

"Who are you?"

* * *

Sakura just stopped breathing a few seconds, not knowing what to do. Why was he staring at her like she was a complete stranger?

"Sakura-chan!" she distantly heard someone call her, but she ignored him and focused her energy on just standing up and not breaking down in confusion and grief. The wound she had slowly been closing up with the help of Sasuke and Naruto over the years had been brutally torn and opened once again, bleeding more furiously than the last time.

Once she felt the warmth of her two closest people on either side of her, she heard them gasp out loud (in Naruto's case. For once, she didn't care what Sasuke's expression would be like).

"Sakura-chan…is that…Setsu?"

Naruto's nickname for her brother brought her back from her rigid posture as she, once again, stared at the boy.

Red/maroon colored hair that resembled her father with his sharp pointy nose and high cheekbones. Striking green eyes that he took from his mother, there was no doubt in her mind that he was her brother.

'_Your brother is very much alive.'_ A distant voice said in her head and she wondered how Itachi knew about all this and what happened for Setsuni to be right in front of her, very much alive and…without any memory.

The nine-year-old boy stared at them with confusion and a small trace of fear, noticing the Konoha Signature in their hitai-ate. Slowly, her brother went closer towards a door, his hand raised to grip the handle nervously.

"It's okay. We mean no harm" Sakura found herself saying, raising her hands to stress her point. The fear in his eyes brought up the protective side of the young medic and she forced a smile on her face to ensure him that they weren't the enemy.

Before anything else could be said, the door opened from the inside and a grown woman with brown hair and eyes showed up. She looked down the boy who inched closer to her and asked, "Keitaro? You're home early…"

The three Konoha ninjas went rigid once they heard the stranger talk with Sakura's brother, who was holding on to her dress while staring at them fearfully.

What the hell was going on?

* * *

And we leave it at that, hehe. I hope you were surprised with this sudden turn of events. Everything will be explained in the next chapter, about why Setsuni was still alive and with memory loss. Also, since I started university today, I will not be able to update as recently as I have been this month. Sorry for that :)

I also may write a new one-shot about Itachi concerning his illness, please read it when I do. I hope you will be able to review this chapter as well!

Sabird


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